The Heart or the Feather?
by BookDragon
Summary: PG13 Mostly bad language. Interesting futuristic game equipment is out. Drayce got to try it out, and all went well until it suddenly went down hill...
1. Chapter 1

Book Dragon: "Something that just wrote itself. Or seemed to, I'd like some feed back to see if this is horrible or maybe even good. Please feel free."

The Heart or the Feather?

Chapter 1: Game Start

The gloves were uncomfortable, and a bluish tint due to the visor. I held in a groan. Shitty materials used to make some of the gear usually meant the game was hurriedly put together. Didn't have time to make decent controls. Usually that meant glitches and tons of bugs in the system. I hated glitches and bugs. Ruined the whole gaming experience. And with this new system it would be even more of a let down.

"You guys sure you want to test this out now?" I asked casually over my shoulder. Better to give them a second chance and some lee way to at least fix it some more. If it wasn't fixed within three weeks, I was out of there. Cash or no cash.

"Yes, Ms. Drayce," answered one of the men in the lab coats, a short dude who was balding and had soft blue eyes inside a wrinkling face. Kind of guy you feel tells the truth a lot.

"The board set this day for the testing period. They seemed quite sure of themselves."

If they want to screw themselves, that's fine with me.

I shrugged, starting to slip on the socks now, being careful more to entangle the white wires. Did that and I was bound to rip some of them out and that would mean two more hours of sitting around doing nothing again. I already read all of the magazines in the waiting room and was quite board by now. When they gave me a twenty minutes heads up I started stretching as not to get cramps during this. I was bound to be at it for hours.

I was straightening the gloves again, trying to get them comfortable when Mr. Hanmer's voice came on over the speaker system, loud and fuzzy from the normal smooth talking man that I was pretty sure was a bastard to his dates.

"Ms. Drice."

"That's _Drayce_." I snarled softly into the speaker.

"Sorry, Ms. Drayce, I was going to ask if they speaker system works, but it seems you already answered my question." Yes, I did so please don't talk again.

"We've picking up the sensors in your feet and hands. The helmet will detect any strange or unusual brain functions, which is why it is heavier than the prototype we had showed you before." Does he ever shut up? Sometimes I wonder if he likes to hear his own voice.

"It should not disturb game-play, but if it does in anyway please tell us before the game starts, as you will be in a type of dream state where your body will be paralyzed, and we would not want our best tester to be-"

"Yes! Yes, we have been over this a hundred times Mr. Hanmer. I'm aware of the risks. You explained them quite thoroughly yesterday, for forty minutes, actually. Besides, I've had a stiff neck before. I don't act like a baby when I'm in a little pain." It shut him up for a while, long enough to check if the helmet was adjusted correctly twice, before finally laying down in the chair.

I glanced over at the open window, feeling eerily like a patient with a highly contagious disease. The ten adult men and five male teenagers on the project where crowded in a small control room, five different microphones to talk to her, and were wearing a number of different styles. They were all stuck behind a large thick glass wall in which to view her. The adults mostly wore suits, except for the three who had been making the game, because they were here on the most official of business. Three of men who did not wear suits had white coats on, instead. They were the doctors.

I turned away.

My vision was replaced by the strange wires and screens and monitors hanging around above me, framing what once was white ceiling plates but now tinted an ocean blue due to the screen. There was silence as I took a breath to calm myself. A breath in which I remembered when they first called to meet with her…

(…)

_"What kind of game is this? A shooter, puzzler, RPG?"_

_"A dueling one, other aspects in other games have also been added."_

_"Card game? Ah, when you've played one, you've played them all... To tell the truth, I bored of them, so if this is what you want me to test…"_

_"This one's different." _

_ I stopped playing with her finger nails and looked up at the man behind the desk with interested eyes. He was young. Maybe 18 years old? Not quiet a man, but old enough for me. I brushed a lock of hair behind my ear and leaned forward warily, not trying to let loose my excitement._

_"…What kind of game?"_

_"A more advanced virtual game."_

_"How advanced?"_

_"You can smell, taste, and feel as well as see and hear." I stared, but was careful to hold my mouth shut as not to start drooling. _

_"We figured, being a gamer of your caliber, you would be the best candidate to try this newer…extreme…to gaming, are you interested?" Hell yes._

_"What's the pay rate?"_

_"Fifty dollars for every hour that you're in." Fifty bucks! AN HOUR! That could buy a lot of controllers. As well as video games. Although I know most of it will end up in my bank account for college money, my parents will see to that. At least half of it. Although, if it takes me sixteen hours…_

_"But there are side effects." My heart lowered in my chest._

_"What kind?"_

_"…"_

(…)

"Alright boys, lets get this show on the road."

I said loudly, pressing the button of the side of helmet with one gloved finger. At first there was nothing. I was tempted to ask what the hell was wrong when the speakers in each side of the helmet started to warm up in the strangest wail of noise. The screen about three inches from my eyes sprang to life in a world of color that made me recoil.

"Sudden appearance of color is hard on the eyes, guys." I said evenly. I heard murmuring through the helmet and the scraping of pens on paper. Was going to roll my eyes, when more images flooded the screen as it moved closer. It started to get close enough where I was pressing the back of my head into the chair.

"Just relax, the screens there to tell you want to do. Just relax…" I stopped pressing. The screen folded out from one to three to cover my straight on vision as well as my peripheral. The screen got to blue I couldn't see anything outside the helmet, just a huge wall of blue. Black words started popping up. I read them. There were so many and so long I could feel myself nodding off. Really off the wall sort of shit. I wonder if that was the purpose of it, though I know kids won't be so patient for that. My eyes drooped until they finally slid shut.

That's when I realized how different the game was.

Black was behind my eye lids, but when I opened them the picture had changed considerably. Felt the strange twisting dropping feeling you get when you fall without knowing it. A sickening lurch. The blue turned blackish but not dark. Stars where flying up around me, even when I turned my head. I could feel the wind combing through my hair and breathed startled like. They must have noticed.

"Ms. Drayce?" a voice asked worriedly in my ear, "are you alright?"

"T-this is incredible." I breathed with awe. My eyes were wide and looking down at where I was falling. I could see my hands, ungloved, and widely stretched to feel the wind. Could also hear it whistling in my ears.

As well as the pleased voices also buzzing in the background. More scribbling of notes. Felt close to giggling. I _had_ to get me one of these when they came out. I felt like I was turning and twisting, as if snaking down a tunnel, but there were no walls, just open air. I couldn't stop looking down, seeing the lights growing more rapidly and frequent. The end had to be near. Somehow I twisted from dropping with my feet down to a skydiver pose. Bend my back and didn't feel the chair underneath me. My arms out wide and my legs crooked.

It was ecstasy.

The light at the end of the tunnel came swift. I only saw the opening for several minutes as it rusted up a big white void before it consumed me and spat me out into recognizable settings.

A city stretched wide out below, beneath streaks of sun light and clouds, a beautifully constructed of cement and glass. More pretty than any city I had ever seen. They had done a good job with the graphics. I must have been going pretty fast because the tops of the buildings were coming quicker than the hole did. I was worried that I'd go splat onto the buildings when against my will I was changed back to the feet down pose.

I watched the sun staying in league with me as I plummeted, my clothes still whipping around. One of the roofs was coming up too close for comfort.

"Guys?" I asked in a little uneasy way.

"The program will slow down, Ms. Drayce, please give it a moment…"

It did.

I slowed considerably, feeling an upward force on my feet and legs, opposite of gravity. I glided down gracefully onto the roof; my feet lightly touch the ground as my hair had one final up draft before fluttering down around my ears. I stood there for a moment, breathing the clear air and feeling the heat of the sun on my back.

"Did you enjoy the ride?" One of the teenagers. Sounded smug. Didn't care. It was amazing.

"Yes." I said curtly, combing my hair back. It even felt like my hair. That was a little strange, that they knew what my hair felt like to me. As I noticed this the kid in the background laughed. I could hear things moving and shuffling. More pen scratching.

Notes I take it.

Looking around my surroundings, I noted there was no why down besides the door to my left. I took and followed the shadowed stair beneath. I was careful to feel the walls on the way down as not to loose my footing. The walls were smooth and cool. I could hear noise, not the noise of the videogame makers, but stuff altered into the game.

I had to feel for the door at the end, and turned the knob rather tentatively. It turned easily and coolly in my grip, and again I was thrown into more lights. Except these came from the ceiling. Regular office lights. That blinding white. I squinted up at them before looking back to the long stretching halls. Cream colored walls. Blue floor. There were doors on either side. I passed all of them. Then I found the elevator.

Pressed the down button and I was going. No horrible music in the background. It was quiet. Strangely so. I watched the floors decrease with steady digital numbers. It was you're average elevator. I stood in the corner, arms folded, and waited.

It slowed to a stop and a couple of people got on. They were completely realistic. I could feel the body heat off of them when they got on. Even smell some body odor from one of the guys standing next to me. I watched the lady wrinkle her noise a little away and had to admire the humor these Videogame makers had.

My floor dinged and I was out. Out into cubicle heaven. The typing of computer keyboards were crazily real, as well as the phones ringing and pleasant greeting voices, none the same, speaking in soft tones. I strolled out; hands in pockets with one or two others, looking around and admiring the graphics were again. Everything looked as good as real. I strolled down the open path way at the heart of all the cubes the workers buzzed in like bees.

I was close to smiling, but didn't. There was some strange disturbance up ahead. A crowd of worker bees around someone I couldn't see. Queen bee perhaps. I was careful to keep my footing neutral as I started to hug the wall in an attempt to get by. They were talking a great deal, but one voice was loud and rang in answers as well as orders. Not pleasant, but serious and sometimes demanding.

I passed and the group had to separate to let me pass, and I caught a glimpse of the Queen Bee. Or rather, King, if there ever was such a thing. A guy with brown straight hair that looked almost plastered to his head, pale face and hands, much taller than me. Wore a huge white coat over black shirt and pants. Ebony boots as well. I liked the straps.

He was busy. I glanced at him when I went by. I was sure he'd go by without looking. I was surprised when he didn't. Even in the chaotic sound of voices, his eyes somehow caught me, and looked at me with a blue gaze for a moment or more, before I looked away from him and pushed onward.

It was unsettling. No one picks me to look at. Never. Not even in public. Had to be a feature of the game. I felt a nervous twinge in me. Felt it as I felt his eyes on my back. I could picture easily his head tilted sideways to look through the corner of my eye. When he was far enough away I remarked.

"You're going to have a lot of female players on this if you keep that up." There was laughter from the outside world from the group of teens.

"You think he was hot?"

"No, but it won't surprise me if you have weaker willed girls swoon."

"Liar."

"Shut up." More distant laughter. I rolled my eyes, openly and opened my mouth to laugh when a voice ensnared me, tightly.

"Excuse me."

There was a bang for that distant part of that world I was laying motionless in. Something fell loud and hard and a whirl wind of confused voices roared.

"What the hell!"

"Who wrote that in?"

"What kind of joke is this!"

"This wasn't in the plot!"

"Who the hell did this!" It made me stop dead, staring blankly and confused. I wanted to speak but I felt the presence of someone. I turned before they all stopped yelling and found it was the blue-eyed man. I looked up at him with an even wary stare. He looked serious and cold. Eyes like ice. I was careful not to plunge into them.

"Yes?"

I asked over the din in my ears. When I spoke it grew dead silent, for which I was relieved. It made it easier to detect the quiet the whole place had gotten. Looking at him he seemed agitated. I held my usual careful stance with people I don't know well.

"I haven't seen you around here before." He said this evenly, arms crossed and gaze piercing. I looked at him for a moment, considering him, before answering just as evenly.

"Haven't been here long. Just passing through."

It was the truth. I'm no good at telling lies. Equally with people skills. Looking at him, I would've said the same. He considered me for several seconds, thinking. I could see movement in his unwavering gaze, not the eye moving, but something behind it. I was ready for him to call me a liar. Don't know why, just was.

Probably from the nervous nail clicking I could hear as well as the comments fresh in my head. This wasn't supposed to happen. I was wondering if someone had hacked into the system and changed the plot around. Tweaked character reactions and such. If that was true, then this guy would be unpredictable, even to the game-makers. The hacker couldn't do anything to him.

"Alright." He said, agitatedly again. Somehow every serious. I didn't like it. He seemed unusually edgy to me. It was exciting as well as nerve racking. I hadn't seen characters with such expressions or complex answers. He understood everything you said and spoke back to you.

With a nod of the head, he let me go. I made sure to keep my pace neutral again, listened to the chaotic talk again, here as well as on my world from those men in the observing booth. When I got outside and was going down the huge grand steps, down into the busy crowds between the monstrously giant buildings around me, I spoke into the invisible microphone.

"What was the commotion about?" I asked, close to a snarl.

"He shouldn't have done that. He's personality has been programmed in away where chances of talking to you were slim, 3 in fact. We didn't even know he could do that." I stopped and held my fingers to my ear to make sure I got that.

"What a minute, what do you mean you didn't know he could do that?" I asked as calmly as I could.

There was silence for a moment.

"We…programmed each person with a personality for the main characters. The computer put random personalities into the others. But we hand selected how the main characters should behave. Personally. After months of research and talking to the original maker. We made Seto Kaiba as he was depicted, and he isn't one to talk to people who he hasn't met unless he's heard of them or they talk to him first." I thought about this for a moment.

"By the look of him, I think he thought I didn't belong there. Perhaps he was trying to protect his company." No argument there. I proceeded to walk along the sidewalk, hands in pockets while I listened to the other quarrel over it. It was strange, the more I listened, the more technical and here-say added to the mix.

By the time the third street name had popped up I had had it.

"Do you want to quit game to work it out then?" I growled. Oddly enough, I got complete quiet. Not even breathing. It was strange and awkward. Enough so to make me wonder if it was smart to trust these people I didn't know very well. Perhaps suspicious is the right word. I just felt uneasy due to the silence.

It seemed dark and secretive.

I walked for what seemed like miles. I got to the point where my legs felt like they hurt and stopped in the park-like place. Sat on a bench and rested my eyes. The others had gone back to their quiet muttering. They didn't seem to keen to speak to me. I was wondering whether to call it quitting time, to get out and never come back here. Yet, I couldn't do that. It was too grand of a thing to run from. It's something we gamers dream of.

And for that, I am a fool.


	2. Shit Hits the Fan

Chapter 2: The Shit Hits the Fan

More walking, more streets, more idle chatter of thousands of programs around me parading as people. The ground under me was solid. The wind cool and soft as well as unpredictable, much like real wind. The sun was warm on my back. I was careful not to run into people, keeping a hand trailing along the cool side of buildings.

It was interesting. I wanted to see where everything went, but after a while they came back to me. Seems they were bored with looking at scenery.

"When do you actually plan on playing, Ms. Drayce?" asked Mr. Hanmer boredly in my ear. I narrowed my eyes with annoyance. I had been walking on a board walk that lined an ocean view.

"As far as I can tell, this is playing." I said loudly. Still wasn't sure what I was supposed to do really, I was hoping something would happen that I could react to soon. I heard someone snort, irritated, and a distant creak of a chair from somewhere outside. I gritted my teeth, but stopped when I saw an interesting looking building a little off in the distance, away from the city, but also away from the ocean.

"What is that?" I asked. There was quiet from the other end of the line, but I could feel general interest. They were silent. I smirked as I turned toward it, interest growing. It was the most enthralling silence I had ever heard. There was no sound, nothing, yet something lurked under that nothing.

I climbed the base of the building stairs, up and up, and found glass doors. The entrance. It was a bit dark inside. Un-dwelled in haunted look. The wind blows eerily. Apprehension, a sweet taste inside the corners of my mouth, the glitter I see in my eyes and hair from the reflection of the glass. I hear nothing of my employers. They are nothing at that moment.

This is the thrill. Being on the edge of something. This had importance written all over it's dull walls. It's in all games. Something hidden and waiting for you to find it, embrace it, and become it. This is the place where you loose yourself and everything in your life. All to this. As simple as opening a door.

My hand fogs that cool smooth glass…

… and I am inside. Door closing quietly behind me. The room beckons, and I answer. More walking and more exploring. There is no remark. There is quiet from that part of the world. It's eerily odd. A musky smell. Gray tiles made the floor. Walking in, footsteps echo in the empty air. Glass cases hugged the sides of the walls down that stretching hall.

Turn some corners. Watching the glass cases, display cases, in fact. Artifacts everywhere. Strange but normal. Does that make sense? I wonder to myself. Not for every long. A door way, a jar open, catches my eyes. Searching eyes. Captivates my interest where I stop to watch it. Study it. Barred off. With chairs and something that reminds me of the yellow tape the police use to block off a scene of a crime. So accusing is that door.

I walk over the tape, step on the chairs, and step quietly onto the ground. I move quietly, slowly. The setting, it reminds me of those spy games. Get past the guard. Yet, I hear no footsteps or see any lights. Touch the door with soft hands, listen to it creak open slowly under the slight pressure of my hand. Watch the darker ravenous abyss going down those stairs. Glance behind me. There is only gray dull grayness in the gloom. Turning back I see the inviting darkness, like an open handed greeting.

I take that hand.

Eyes wide and unseeing, my fingers prickle at the smooth feeling walls. So dark I can't see yet. My eyes are adjusting. Decent smooth and sweet. The excitement is rising, rising due to the childish daring, daring me to tread in that all concealing darkness. Tempt fate into taking you with spade black claws.

Light ahead. I'm reminded of my falling journey down into this game. Reminded heavily. But here there were no lights. No starry night. Just oppressing black abyss. The stairs suddenly end and I almost trip. Grab the wall for support. My eyes shift to the steady golden glow. When my footing is balanced on the level floor, I look at my coated hands, stretched out, confused for a moment, before looking up and finding the source of that glow.

A tablet.

I smile.

"You guys did a great job with the lights." I said with warmth. Chuckling in that part of the world. More scratching of notes. I stay where I'm standing, absorbing the sight for a few more minutes, until Mr. Hanmer ruins it like usual.

"Why don't you take a closer look?" Smug. But did I hear curiosity? I took it as my ears playing tricks on me at the time. I took a casual walk over to the thing, the light getting brighter and brighter the closer I got.

Three steps away, I get an awed breath out of my ear, like a whisper, from that part of reality, and I know I should've ran right then. But the sight was far too curious and appealing. I let my eyes wander over the images. Two men, pictures of monsters around them. More pictures but in words. Hieroglyphs. Egyptian. A breeze brushes by my ear.

And I realize that there is movement in this place shrouded in dim golden light. I turn and there is someone partly cloaked in the dark. Face hidden under a head of hair tinted gold due to the light. There is silence. I feel a chill creep softly down my spine. The child of a shiver.

Hands in its pockets that human shape does not move, stays partly hidden. A smile is on its lips. I feel ice cold. Somehow this is not what I expected, even though it was perfect for the game.

"Who are you?" I ask in cautious tone. No movement. Strangely familiar in that gold glow. I don't run. Don't move. My legs refuse. I watch with wariness.

And in the same hiding place he speaks with a voice like poison, hungry for pain, and filled to the brim with rage.

"You don't belong here." Stalking tone echoes harshly around that room. The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I wait. No answer from me. Part of the program I'm sure. I smirked at how uneasy I was. This was going to sell big time in the market, I hoped they knew that. They would have to have a warning on the box though; I'd have to make sure they got that. For know, I'd enjoy this game.

"Who are you to say?" My tone is neither harsh nor scared. Drawled by the tongue. Still no movement from this character. His voice echoes as if on a haunted fog.

"You smell of different things. Not of this place at all. So where do you come from?" More uneasiness. Yet the assurance that this is all fake makes me continue to grin.

"America." I say quietly, "So good of you to notice."

"Much farther than that." he retorts shortly. I blinked, surprised, but laughed a moment later. How humorous! When this sequence was over I'd have to congratulate them on the scariness of that tone. I was smiling wider when that voice spoke again.

"You smell of outside. State your name."

"Drayce."

"Full name." I put my hands on my pockets, admiration beaten down to annoyance.

"Love Drayce." I say sourly. They had to have added that. Just because I won't give my full name to them. They must have been itching enough to put it into the blasted game. There was going to be hell to pay when I get out.

There was a cold chuckle.

"You're the seventh to come to this place, but the first to come in here."

"Lucky number." I reply simply. The symbolism is hilarious. They'd have to think of a better number. Something not so boringly dull and over used.

"Did they not tell you of the other six?" Still he does not move. I'm getting bored with this conversation. It only adds to my annoyance and the raging session I was going to have when I got out of here.

"No." I say, close to a sigh.

"It was easy to drive the other six mad, weak-willed. You smell different from them, though."

"Do I?"

"You have what I want." I pressed my finger to my ear and laughed.

"You getting this guys? And I suppose you'll have him leap out at me and try to grab me with a knife, right?" Silence. That's weird.

"Guys?"

"They can't hear you." I look back at the stranger, getting a little annoyed with this programming.

"Bullshit. This is just a glitch they're going to have to fix." I snarled. I accepted a 'that does not compute' or 'I don't understand' or 'blank face and ignore completely what I'm saying.

"This is no glitch." Growls the voice playfully.

"What do you mean?"

"I severed that link. Quite easily." He replies icily. I looked at him. Looked at him angrily.

"…This isn't funny." Just a smile. A creeping sanity-checking smile.

"But it is."

And his hand lifts from out of his pocket. Except it's longer than it should be. And grayer. It slides down and points at me, black tunnel at the end of it. At this point my confused brain recognizes it finally. I can't move.

"Are you going to shoot me?" I asked softly and regularly. He laughs in an amused tone. Not scared. Just a game. Eerie frightening game. No, can not allow myself to taste coppery fear. Just breathe.

"No, this is for you." He placed it gently on the ground and slides it. I can hear it skidding down on the tile floor and thuds gently against my feet. Metallic shine pierces through the dim. Revolver. Six shots. I pick it up. Check the barrel. All six shots are in. Fully loaded. I can smell sulfur. Snap the barrel back with a swift jerk of my wrist and curled my index finger around the trigger, but point it to the floor instead of him. Has to be a catch after all. I ask him.

"No catch. I figure if you're so keen on playing games, you'd try mine. That's your weapon. You have six shots."

"Alright, this game has any rules?"

"No. Anything goes."

I lifted the gun and shot at him. The smell of sulfur increased mightily with the bang. Something new to this game, for sure, besides the feel of metal instead of cheap plastic like at the arcades were they steal you're quarters from you. Shooting games weren't my best, but I was good. It would've hit the mark.

It didn't.

A great beast rose from that dark place and snatched it up. Ate it. I raised an eyebrow at the thing. Large massive monster of a thing. Had head of a bull with a bullish/ man body, standing on two legs instead of four, red fiery eyes, hand clenched around a huge club. Minotaur, really. Impressive. I glanced back at the stranger, who was holding a card between two of his fingers above his head.

"Beast on the card?" I asked.

"Yes." Even tone. Maybe a little interested. Didn't care. I stared for a moment or more before swaying to one side and bolting as fast as I could run. Left, always left, facing the stranger. Fired another shot. The thing didn't have time to move in front of his master, but enough to deflect it with its club. Heard the bullet bounce around the walls, wild and unpredictable. No chance of friendly-fire. He laughed.

"Try again."

Bit my lip and stared at the crimson emotionless eyes. Smoke escaped through its nostrils. What have you learned? Cards were magic. Can't fight magic with mortal weapons. Every fantasy game will tell you that. So what was there to do? I looked back at the tablet which was glowing golden even in the dark. Anyway to harness that?

Something crashed down next to me, sending a shudder through my entire body. Didn't look at what it was, bolted to the right and shot at it wildly. Enough time to see it seep back into the ceiling. Glanced over. Two cards in hands now. Oh _great_. I spun around and narrowly missed a long deadly looking sharp blade. It seeped back into the floor slowly, as I sprinted past. Made for the tablet.

Mere feet away and the ground explodes with two blades, like those of a massive Mantas. Can't stop. Slide between them, cutting my left arm bad. The sudden hot flaming pain made me scream with surprise. Hadn't expected pain. I registered it quick, and let it fly away. No time to think about it. I rolled the rest of the floor and hit the wall shuddering. Felt wet red blood pour freely from my arm, but lift it up and slap it on the tablet. Or rather the glass over it.

Didn't glance behind me to check how close the thing was. Just lifted the gun and blasted. BAM. Breaking glass started to run down on me, I twisted my face away from it eyes shut tight. Heard it raining like diamonds. When the last bits were hitting the ground I flung my hand up there. Slam, right on to the stony rough surface with my left hand, blood splattering onto the floor as I did so and pointed the gun forward.

Test number one was right in front of me. Some kind of monster that was living in the walls. Poked its head out when the glass was breaking. Mouth wide open. Cocked the gun and fired right into it. Bits of flesh and blood splattered everywhere, hot and sticky, black in the dim light.

Didn't pause.

I was on the Minotaur in a second and fired. Deflected with the club. Bitch in a can! Cocked the gun again right after and fired quick. Too fast for the bastard to block. A nice round hole appeared in his chest and he fell down like a great elm. Thud. Blood was running freely down my arm, throbbing with an ache I was trying to ignore. Lying flat on the ground like that, left hand clutching the rock, right arm pointing the gun at that shadow cloaked stranger, I was well pleased. Pointed right at him, favoring the feel, and pulled the trigger.

Click.

I looked at the gun, dumbfounded.

"You're six shots are up, Love." He said quietly. I glared at him. He removed something thick from his pocket and took a single piece of it. He drew a card from a _deck_ of cards. Many cards. He laughed coldly.

"It looks like I win." He said coolly. I stared. Stared and felt my facing going white. He had a whole arsenal of beasts in that deck and I was out of ammo. The throbbing in my arm was strangely realistic. Horribly so. It seemed to say in quiet tone, that yes I was really injured, and the chance of being killed was very high. Ever heard of being brain dead?

I looked at him. He raised the card. Raised it high above his head, showing it off to no one but me. Had to be habit. I took a breath. Felt cold. Ice cold. Loosing a lot of blood. I gritted my teeth against the pain and fright. Fright making me shake so violently now. He was loving every moment of it. I was dead. Dead as dirt.

Something appeared in shadow as his voice summoned it. Too dark to make out. Something shifting and dangerous. Silent. Stalker most likely. This thing was going to get me. I was beat. Frustration. Nothing left. I knew I couldn't get up. Going to die. He's laughing. Insane laughter.

The glowing pulsed suddenly stronger. Didn't know why. I felt my head going down. So much blood. Getting dizzy. Tired. Too tired to move. My hand stayed clenched to the ancient stone. Someone's yelling. Faint and fuzzy. Ringing bells. Light so strong it banishes the darkness around me, banishes shadows as well as figures. But not the coming darkness behind my eye lids. Loud booming male voice. Silver eyes.

Must sleep.

Book Dragon: "Please review."


	3. Help From the CEO

Chapter 3: Help from the CEO

_Bright metallic shine. Blade. Sand. Screams. Sweat and Blood. Tears. Heat. Scolding Hot. Blue. More screaming. Sky. Endless dunes. Gold. Jewelry. Birds screaming. Rage. Woe. Insanity. Eat my sword. Rolls. Eyes. Black. Someone's screaming._

_ Arrow._

Woke to screaming and flew up from off the floor. No, no a bed. Eyes wide yet not taking in the world, hands fumbling for the gun that was tucked inside the belt of her pants. Didn't know why it was there. Didn't care. Pointed it around the room, looking for the screamer with wild scared eyes.

Points it with both clenched hands to a girl and freezes. I blink. She blinks. She breathes ragged and has a near insane look on her face. Hair untidy. Chest expanding and decreasing as to take in all the air.

Mirror.

I lower the gun from my reflection, realizing it was me screaming a moment ago. Made sure I shoved it out of my conscience thought quickly before I could reflect. Took a good look around. Average sized room. Book shelf with some books, duh. Closet open, mirror on the side of the door. Different clothes. There's a desk with a computer on it in the corner. The metallic plastic wires exposed of some gutted machine. Cold coffee mug. Blue blankets. Twin size bed. Comfortable. Screw driver lies alone on the floor. Rolled off most likely. Windows to the right of the desk. More city. Sunset.

Wasn't out of the game yet.

Look down to pull the sheets off me and I see my arm is bandaged. White cloth tied in well practiced knots. Means the cloaked bastard wasn't a dream. Go about removing the blankets from my person, glad to find my clothes still on. Found my shoes after looking for a couple of seconds by the door. Slipped out of the bed. Legs were wobbly though. After that, would expect it. Held the side of it for balance for a few moments with one hand, clutching my legs with the other while holding the gun. Was trying not to get dizzy. That's expected too.

Then the door slammed open unexpectedly.

I was up standing straight, Revolver pointed at the open door way, one handed, with calm stern focused eyes. Didn't even see it coming.

"She was hurt, Seto! You can't just-" Someone's saying. Younger. Definitely younger. My eyes adjust and it's the Blue eyed King Bee guy from the Corp I had come in before. He looked like he had just been pissed, but suddenly his skin had turned a paler white than before. He's frozen in the doorway; hand hasn't even left the doorknob, eyes down pointed to the gun barrel, in a black shirt and black pants. Must have ditched the coat.

"Seto?" asked that small voice again.

Someone shorter than him moves around his back. I can see a darker pair of navy eyes through the corner of my eye, but he's quick to yell.

"Mokuba don't move!" His tone is harsh, but it's the glimpse of the gun that scares him into obeying.

At that, I sigh. I point the snout of the weapon up, letting it twirl between my fingers before grabbing the butt of it and jamming it into my belt again. My legs buckled weakly again and I held onto the side of the bed for support. I averted my eyes from that blue stare.

"Sorry. Didn't expect anyone to come barging in like that…Reflex." I shoved my hand off the bed and went for my shoes against the wall. Used that wall for support as I bent down and scooped up both of my shoes. Started jamming one on at a time. When I had both of them on, he was still staring. It was freakish and unsettling to me.

"It's not loaded." I said, fished the thing back out of my belt and flicked the bullet barrel open. Only open air in the six narrow slots, windows showing blue carpet through them. I flicked it back and handed it to him so he could inspect it for himself as I started tying the laces of my shoes.

He recovered pretty quick after that. Didn't know whether to blame it on the programming or all these glitches everywhere. Still, it was more a little admiring. I got back up and he looked ticked off, gun now out of sight. Really hadn't expected getting that back anyway. I was wondering if I should've wormed around him to continue this little messed up game. The guys must have shut off the link to the room. That's probably why I couldn't hear anything. Had to be.

I listed a few more complaints for them when I finished this.

"What's your name?" he demanded. I'd do the same if someone just scared the shit out of me. Poor dude. I was checking the bandaging job on my arm, trying not to look at him in the eye. Hate having to do that.

"Drayce." I replied, tightening the cloth a bit, before leaving it alone.

"Do you have a first name?" Different voice. Younger. Looking behind him I did see a shorter kid. Big black hair. Longer and more wild. He was the owner of the navy eyes. He had a kind face. Could see it immediately. And I liked him just like that.

"For the sake of discussion, no." I said. It wasn't harsh. Wasn't playful. Just a statement.

"I'm taking it was you who did this wonderful bandaging job?" I don't think he was use to complements. I'm not either, so I can under stand not knowing what to say and not looking at me anymore. Ah well, one less pair of eyes to worry about. As for the older kid, he very much worried me.

"Do either of you have names?" I asked, trying to avoid that feeling.

"Mokuba Kaiba." Said the younger one, and pointed to the older boy in front of him.

"This is my brother. Seto."

Brothers. I looked from one to the other trying to find a resemblance and failing. They only shared having pale skin trait. It was interesting. They both acted like older brother and younger brother. Did a good job at least with this part of the programming.

"Well, thank you for saving me from that man and taking me in, but now I have to go. If you need anything from me, just ask." I started walking toward Seto, expecting him to move out of the way. He didn't.

"What man? I found you outside on the steps." replied Mokuba, younger brother I took it. I looked at him curiously through the hole under Seto's arm, thinking. That would mean someone else had come and saved me from whatever was about to happen back there. Someone who wished to remain a mystery to me.

"Interesting…" I said aloud. I was done playing around. I ducked under Seto's arm and found Mokuba to be more likable when I could see all of him. He was most definitely little brother material. Me being little sister material, I had an idea of what it must have been like. I swallowed a smile and started down the hall to my right like I knew it had always been there. Just be casual.

Mokuba was quick to catch up.

"What's interesting?" I glanced at him, to my right. Very interesting. And eerie. To look at him you could swear he was more than numbers and computer 1s and 0s. That was frightening, enough so that it made the idea of going mad completely possible. Still, his navy orbs were watching me even after I was done with my glance. I could also feel the older brother walking behind us. Got to keep an eye on the kid after all.

"…Nothing." I assumed he would just take it like a regular program. He didn't say anything else, yet I could swear he felt even more curious by that. I didn't dwell on it. Going crazy was probably one of the side effects.

Nothing to interesting was done after that. I was going to go for the door and out when Mokuba asked if I wanted breakfast. Eh, what could it hurt? I got escorted to the kitchen, big damn thing if I've ever seen one, but then the size of the house also must be added. Big mansion means big rooms, which means big kitchens.

He set off making breakfast. I offered to help him with some stuff but he's a good host, saying I was the guest and blah, blah, blah. It's cute, I'll admit it, but a bit annoying as well. Sometimes I don't like being taken care of.

Still, I didn't get mouthy. Rarely do. Instead, I contented myself with looking for another suitable weapon incase someone decided to pick a fight. My first thought was one of the long cooking knifes, but after flipping around a bit, tossing and catching, I found they were too top heavy and discarded them back into their slots. I started looking in some of the closets and found different cleaning solutions. Sure, I could spray that in people's eyes, but did I really want to get that close?

I looked at the cut on my arm and decided no.

Mokuba told me it was ready when I was checking out the liquor bottles, debating to ask if I could relieve them of it and stuff cloth in the tops of them. Make good fire explosions when lit and thrown, after all.

I put the thing down, noting rather uneasily that Seto had come back and was looking at me. Again. Felt like I was under supervision or something, which was annoying as well as unsettling. I decided he was still untrusting about the whole getting a gun in his face this morning, so I said nothing and sat down.

Pancakes, toast, orange juice, milk, boiled eggs, butter, jam, marmalade, spoons, forks, knifes, plates, flowers- I looked at the flowers suspiciously- fruit, syrup, cereal…

"You've been busy." I said looking as I was looking at my plate again, noting the blue designs on the edges of it. They looked like fancy dinning plates. The forks had complicated designs that I had to follow with my eyes a couple dozen times before I looked up to say something and stopped.

Seto was glaring. Icy cold annoyed glaring. Not at me. Other direction, across the table. Mokuba stared back with a look of urging, wide eyes, and something of a smug smile on his lips. His eyes had been darting from him to me, and he immediately stopped when he saw me staring and started blushing like hell.

I blinked once, looked down, and started poking the pancakes with my fork. I waited for them to sort themselves out, wondering what the hell that was about, not really wanting to know. When I looked up next, the kid was chewing his pancake wordlessly and avoiding my eyes again.

I ate. The food had taste. I had three glasses of orange juice, an apple, a pear, grapes, some of a pancake, and half a piece of toast before I finally got up and put my dishes into the sink and sat back down at the table, chasing everything down with yet another glass of orange juice. I'm always thirsty. Sometimes I would if I could have once been a fish.

I waited for them to finish, which wasn't long and looked at Seto as he came back. I was back to thinking about weapons, weapons, and you guessed it, more weapons!

"Could I have that gun back?" He stared at me for a moment.

"No." I sighed.

"Alright, that's just one more thing to do this morning…could I please have a pen and paper?"

I waited all of thirty seconds for Mokuba to run and grab the closest pen and paper he could find and run back. I took them and smiled as well as said a thank you before getting down to business. I wanted a list of things to get, in case I could. The first things on it were 1) good pistol, 2) bullets. After that, I ripped the paper off the pad and started folding it up, thought about it again, then unfolded it and scribbled 3) Magical device of some kind… (cards?) refolded it and stuffed it in my pocket.

"Think I could have this pen?" I got a nod from Mokuba and thanked him again as I tucked it behind my ear and rose out of the chair.

Mokuba escorted me to the front door, talking about if I should need anything, or if I even felt like, I should come down and see them. A girl would've thought it sweet, yeah I am one, but at the time it was rather weird. He seemed excited to see me again, and whether it was just that he liked me, I didn't know. I did know something was going on between him and the brother, but now was not a time to ask. I thanked them again, for the third or fourth time that day; I lost count, after declining a ride, and was out and down the steps.

About ten blocks away down a number of streets, I had my fingers pressed to my ear again and was cursing bitterly. The line was still out. Technical difficulties I was guessing, though I couldn't put the words the Stranger had said the night before.

_"I severed that link. Quite easily."_

I kept biting my lip until I drew blood. And about an hour after, sucking my lip, I forced the thoughts concerning that back and decided to worry about something more practical. Like getting some money.

I had considered just stealing a gun, bullets, and some cards, but the more and more I thought about it, the more and more I was sure I'd have to do some serious running. I was tired as it was. And still didn't have an idea as to how to obtain some cash. Getting a job would take too long, and going back to the Kaiba house was just way to strange to even considered.

I was walking with my hands stuff in my pockets staring at my shoes, thinking hard about it, when I heard someone yelling their head off. Wicked pissed off yelling. I look up to see what is going on.

I hadn't expected the two men to be coming right at me, running like hell, nor the way I put my arm up when they tired to go around, knocking the first guy right off his feet and the second straight over the first, or even when I put my foot down over the back of the second guy sprawled on the sidewalk.

I did feel the whiplash in my arm though.

That hurt like hell.

I was rubbing it when the yeller was coming up the sidewalk. Some blonde that was taller than me with brown eyes and a wicked accent. He stopped about three feet away from me, staring in astonishment for a moment, and I was sure he was one of those, 'men are superior to women' deals and had to fight of a strong dislike.

When he didn't say anything for a couple of minutes I was done waiting.

"Is this your problem?" I asked.

"Yeah, how'd you do it?"

"Reflex mostly." That was coming out a lot. I lifted my foot off of them when I was sure they wouldn't bolt. The teen leaned down and I finally noted I had shaken them up pretty good. Falling flat on your ass on hard concrete will do that to a person. He fished around in all the pockets, I watched him closely. He fished, and finally stopped. I could imagine that his fingers had brushed over what he was looking for. I saw his face soften into relief and it was strange. He grasped whatever the hell it was and stood with it clasped in his fist for a moment, before holding it up.

It was gold and small. Jagged and seemingly familiar. I felt a chill rise in me at the sight of it, before it vanished out of site in his fist and he grinned widely.

"Nobody ever gets away from Joey Wheeler!" He says and laughs while grinning. The first word that comes to mind is this: idiot. Yet, I say nothing, because it is useless getting into fights and argument over something so trivial. He's done in a moment anyway and is looking at me.

"Thanks."

"Welcome." Yet I'm uneasy. Neither of us talk again, just sort of look at each other. I think he expected me to give him my name. I didn't do such a thing. It was awkward.

"So…I guess I'll see you around?" he asked, averting his eyes away from me to the sidewalk. I didn't.

"Sure."

He was gone. He went with a quick wave, saying something about having to return something and ran off. I expected that. Totally unnerved the kid. I waited until he was out of sight before looking back down the two men, laying there not moving. Probably unconscious. Didn't know I had that much power.

I went down on one knee; much like the kid did, and started checking the pockets. I found what I was looking for. Pulled the wallet out and flipped it open. I figure if the guy has the nerve to steal, then it wouldn't hurt to 'borrow' some money from him. Surprisingly he had a lot in bills. I took them, stuffed them in my pocket and left his license and credit cards. They'd only be a way for the cops to track me down. Dollar bills, unmarked, were the way to go if you're stealing. I've played enough games to figure that out.

I was putting his wallet back when something cold and metallic brushed against my hand eagerly. I blinked, and then smiled readily as I curled my fist around it and pulled it out. Bullet cartridge. I was a little surprised. If this was going to be a kid's game there probably shouldn't have been fire arms, but then that whole fighting scene I had survived through earlier was enough to say this wasn't a kid's game. Most likely for teen.

Searched around a little more, found two more clips, and finally the gun in the other side of the jacket. Figures. Probably the best way to protect yourself if the mussel of the pistol is too hot.

Still, I checked the clip in the gun. It had a black mussel and brown hand grip, a .45 probably. Found it empty. I sighed, knowing that was another couple of seconds wasted as I loaded the thing. I glanced at him a few times as I did so, trying to make sure he wouldn't wake up too quick.

When it was fully loaded I stuffed it into my belt, out of few, stood, and started walking, hands in pockets. They'd wake up eventually, and I wouldn't want to be around when they did.

Book Dragon: "Please Review."


	4. Spilled Coffee

Chapter 4: Spilled Coffee

I went back to the museum. Took me about three hours to even find the way back. Stopping fifteen different times to check in the phone books at the nearest museums. I figured I couldn't have been dragged too far, and it was only a matter of time before I figured out where the damn thing was.

I got there and found the place practically wrapped in yellow police tape. It was aggravating. There was already a crowd and you could hear them talking pretty loud. I was watching them remove the various objects from inside of it, expected to see some CSI guys in there pretty soon while standing next to gossiping girls.

According to them there was loads of broken glass from someone smashing all the cases, but other than nothing was stolen. They also found some blood in the basement by an important Egyptian artifact on the floor so they believe it could be a possible homicide. It basically revealed nothing I hadn't already known. Dead End here.

I walked further up the street and found a coffee shop. Went in. I was feeling a bit tired so I ordered a cup and bought a newspaper. The incident had to have come up somewhere, after all. It was on page eight. I sat in the by the window as to have a view out incase I saw the stranger from the night before. I was getting a bit too hopeful. I was reading the article when the waitress brought me my coffee. I poured about ten packets of sugar into it with three containers of cream while thumbing down the page.

They mentioned a Hawkins a lot. Turns out the guy was some famous archaeologist, the kind of guy that made about twenty historical fines in the past thirty years. Some kind of legend I was guessing. Really figured. Arthur Hawkins. It was pretty obvious that I should try and track this guy down. Perhaps he'd have some information on the tablet down there. Or any more magical artifacts that could be of some use.

I was sipping my coffee when I felt the booth opposite me shift under some extra weight. I had my face completely hidden by the paper and lowered it slightly to see who exactly was paying me a visit casually.

I got a pair of blue eyes and nearly flinched.

"What brings you here?" I asked casually, lifting the paper back up, scanning over the story without really reading it. It was somewhere to hide, really. The kid kind of gave me the creeps.

"Nothing really, I just didn't expect to see anyone drinking coffee at one o' clock in the afternoon." He sounded serious, yet it was spiced with a little irritation. I wondered if Mokuba had made him come in here but didn't plan on checking. I was writing Arthur Hawkins down on the list I had made in his kitchen, after crossing off gun and bullets.

"Coffee isn't just for morning pick-me-ups, Seto. Sometimes people have them at night on dates."

He said nothing to that and actually was quiet for a few moments. After wincing once I had several big gulps and felt the sugar starting to warmly enter my system. When I pocketed the paper and replaced the pen behind my ear, I folded the paper, deciding to take it with me for a while incase I should find anything else interesting.

He wasn't looking at me. His blue eyes were pointed somewhere else away. Didn't blame him. I made myself believe he was trying to signal the waitress for something to drink. I lifted the white foam cup to take another sip when a bang and a whistle ripped dangerously through the air. Coffee sloshed out of the brand new set of holes in opposite sides of it, which I dropped immediately as I reached across the table and pulled the blue-eyed kid down out of the booth and onto the ground screaming.

"GET DOWN!"

Everyone was screaming in the shop. Didn't blame them. Wasn't blaming a lot of people today. I had the pistol out and was checking again to make sure it was loaded correctly, while looking up at where I had been sitting. Hot coffee was kluging and dripping off the sides of the table like fake rain makers you see in water fountains in the mall.

There was a nice perfect circle in the window next to where we were sitting. I moved back to safely under the table, leaning against the seat. I glanced at Seto, who was crouched in a most definitely uncomfortable way. The entire side of his head pressed against the underside of the table. He was staring at the gun in my hand with blue eyes, but he wasn't freaking out. I wondered if he thought it was me that shot since everything had happened so fast, but it seemed he had the superior intellect as well as a slow panic button.

No more shots rang out. I was starting to believe it had been a warning shot. I mean you have to have a pretty steady hand to shoot the coffee out of someone's hand without taking off any of their fingers. A sniper perhaps? I was grinning to myself, finding this getting more and more interesting. I must have looked mad.

"You know anyone who wants you dead?" I asked Seto. Better to at least try and figure out if this was some idiot who could have just gotten a lucky shot off, a jealous lover, even, though he didn't appear to be that kind of guy.

"Plenty of people." He shifted his head and tried to scrunch down lower. Then he smiled a little bit.

"Never knew any of them to be this bold." I couldn't stop smiling at that. We both knew the target had to be me.

"Well, I think you can get up if you want. This isn't the most comfortable of places, and I'm sure he won't shoot again." I was crawling out from under the desk as I said this. People around us were already starting to emerge from there hiding places after the three minutes of nothing.

We both got up and looked around I found everyone was looking at me white faced. I put the gun away and started working on some lie while I fished out the money to pay for my clearly spilt and cold coffee now. I was still trying to think of something when Seto said something completely brilliant.

"My bodyguard." I looked at him, a little dumbfounded, and figured out how that could work. Obviously he was an important figure; I got that from the moment we meant. Probably worked for a powerful company. Just didn't know his place or how powerful the organization. Guessing from the wide eyes and complete understanding looks; he was famous enough to have people recognize him.

I could fly with that.

"Er. Yeah. Nothing to be alarmed about, folks. Show's over. You can go back to your…uh…prior engagements." I took Seto by the arm, trying to make it look like I was escorting him out when I couldn't take everyone staring at me anymore.

I was out of there and walking down the street every fast. About three blocks away I let go of his arm and slowed down enough so we where walking side by side. It wasn't until then that I realized he was wearing that huge white trench coat and black clothes from yesterday. He was not looking at me again but ahead of us.

"That was good." I complimented, "I was thinking along the lines of police, but that wouldn't have worked as well…so what kind of business man are you?"

"CEO." He said quietly. I was startled. Hadn't pictured a kid, though he was a few years older than me, running an entire company by myself. I think he was a bit surprised that I hadn't heard of him. It was like I could feel it coming of him in waves from that stiff nature.

"Came in from out of country. Visiting. One of those stupid Americans, you see."

"I see." I didn't think he believed me. Yeah, I was an American; that was the truth. The rest of it was tipsy though. I wanted to get off that topic.

"Where's Mokuba?"

"At school." That was a good place to be. Nice and safe. Snug as a bug in the rug. I waved all those annoying thoughts away and concentrated on the game a little shakily, wondering if I was starting to consider these people as…

I shook my head again. Hard.

"You know an Arthur Hawkins?" I asked, stopping for a red light at a cross walk. I looked around for suspicious characters as he thought about it, not saying anything for a moment.

"No." I was tempted to open my mouth, ask him if he could call him, being so high on the business ladder it wouldn't be hard. Yes, I'd like to make a call for a Ms. Drayce. Thought about it, saw him with the phone on his ear making that call and froze.

Froze because I was going too far.

I was careful not to look at him as we walked. I wondered where this Hawkins would be and when this CEO would leave me to go back to running in company. Or what type of fate had decided he should come upon me in that coffee shop or even wake up in his house. I gritted my teeth and felt like I needed to shoot something.

"Damn this game." I snarled.


	5. Hunt for Hawkins

Chapter 5: Hunt for Hawkins

We did part. Someone found him down the street, an employee or whatever, somebody he knew in a suit and they started to talk, and I found he had to leave on business. I expected that much. Gave him a stiff nod and I was gone before he even took a step to leave. I was sick of the awkward crap.

It was back to checking phone booths.

"Hawkins…Hawkins…Hawkins…" Muttering I was leafing through the phone book, leaning against the glass, licking my thumb and going through the pages. Couple of minutes later I had it, the phone number, the address for an Arthur Hawkins. I flipped the crumbled paper over and wrote it down on one of the side glass planes. I was replacing it back when the phone suddenly rang, making me jump.

It rang again, more demanding and I stared at it warily. Since when can you call a phone booth anyway? It had to be for me. That was the point in receiving strange calls from strange payphones wasn't it? I picked it up.

"Drayce here."

"I want you to stay away from my Kaiba-baby." I stared into the phone receiver a little surprised at the girly tone, feeling an instant dislike as well as confusion.

"Your…Kaiba-baby?" The name tasted fowl on my tongue.

"Yes. He's mine. You can have Joey or Bakura or Yugi if you want, but Kaiba-baby is mine. Stay away from him and his family." It was definitely a girl. One of those girly-girls that make me sick. Yet I was confused about these other names.

"Yugi?" I asked confusedly, trying to keep her on the line while looking around outside for where the bitch could be hiding. Her tone was arrogant and she sounded wicked pissed and she sounded like someone completely disconnected.

"YES! Yugi! You know friend of the Pharaoh Atem!" she snarled and kept mouthing off about leaving her beloved blue-eyed dream god alone before I toned her out. Pharaoh Atem? My eyes widened, remembering the tablet had been of Egyptian, had depicted a battle of some kind. Could a Pharaoh have anything to do with this?

Hell yes.

"LISTEN!" I roared through the babble raggedly, "I don't know what the hell you're going on about, but if I find out you're the one trying to kill me over a computer program I will catch you, gut you, _then_ kill you. Tell me who Atem is!"

She hung up fast.

"SHIT!"

I was left slamming the receiver down on the phone several thousand times screaming my head off. After my arms became to hurt with the stress, I stopped and brushed by my hair for a few minutes trying to control myself.

I was loosing it. I was starting to believe this place was more. 'Didn't know what the side effects were' my ass. Insanity seemed like a big effect, didn't it? I pinched the bridge of my nose hard and concentrated on breathing. It had to have been easy. She had already lost it, I could tell she wasn't just a program, didn't know how exactly, but I knew it. I'd rather have believed that than believed that she was a program and started going mad.

I was outside and looking at the words I had scrawled on the bottom of the right hand corner of the paper. Pharaoh Atem. I had considered writing in a question mark but didn't. I also penned down Yugi, Bakura, Joey, and Wheeler with question marks. I remembered the kid from before had said his name was Joey Wheeler.

I was looking for Hawkins house by then. Why not? It was another question for me to ask the good explorer. And historian. Being an archaeologist, something that must have had a lot of researching to do, right? He's bound to know something about a Pharaoh named Atem. Had to.

The technicians still weren't responding. The hacker; that Kaiba-baby insane girly-bitch had to have cut those off. Just the type of person we need running everything in the computer at the moment right? Oh this was just _wonderful_. As for that other psycho in the damn basement, I'm thinking she wrote him in just to play with me like a damn puppet. Maybe that was why she was so paranoid, knowing that my first name is Love? Freaking ridiculous.

I had to take the bus across town. I figured it out after buying a map and comparing where I was now and where the house was. Turns out I was going in the wrong direction. I also bought a back pack from the little stand as well as a pad of paper and a couple more pens.

Dumped the map, my list/note, new pens (kept the old one behind my ear), the cash, and bullets into the black medium sized sack quickly. I decided I was going to keep the gun near me at all times now. After how good she could shoot, or one of her cronies could shoot, I wasn't going to fool around anymore.

People stayed away from me as I waited at the bus stop. I was too pissed off to care. I got on and tracked my route with the map the best I could. Not the best with navigation, but I have enough skill to get me by. When I thought we got close enough I pulled the rope over my seat that was sagging down at me. The bus stopped and I got off and walked the last three streets and found the place.

Found it up in flames.

I stood there looking dumbfounded, watching the flames curl up the sides of the house, the windows melt from the tremendous heat, watched the firemen running around like roaches with their high powered water toys trying to combat that mighty fire that made it self so very much at home in those walls.

And I could hear someone screaming. Screaming something incessantly behind me. Some blonde I didn't recognize. She had wide greenish eyes behind reddish glare on her glasses. Her face was twisted with horror.

"GRAMPA! My grandfather's still in there!" She's wailing and crying.

How old was the guy in the article? Some of those discovered were made years before I was born. That would make him a pretty old dude, right? Maybe even a grandfather? It had been a pretty big house. Not as big as the Kaiba's house, that was monstrous, but still a decent size house. Big Mortgage.

I roll my eyes.

"Ms! MS!" I point the gun at him, not slowing down at all, as I threw my bag aside.

"Shove it." He gets my point. His face drains of color as his hands go up in surrender. I ignore him and just enter the house.

It's beyond hot. Sweltering isn't even the right word. The smoke was thick and ebony black, almost like welcoming curtains. I held my sleeve to my mouth on reflect and go deeper into what could have once been the hallway. The gun was still in my hand incase any of those idiots tried to come in after me. The smoke stung my eyes so I had them squinting.

"HAWKINS!"

No answer.

The reddish yellow pulses of light are damning. I could get why Hell would be terrifying, but I had an advantage. I kept pushing through, minding the flames and the creaking floor. I have a hunch. It's the thing that's always done in games. I guy can't be on the first floor, that was too easy. No, the guy had to be either in the basement or up stairs so you'd have to be daring and risk your neck for the prize.

I go up the stairs when I find them, relatively fire free, slowly. Everything was sunset crimson. The spit in my mouth had all dried up making me feel like I was the Sahara on the inside. Didn't touch anything. The creaking of dead burning wood was enough to warn against that. Seeing them, coated in black with soot.

Seen it all before.

Go through two bed rooms looking for the guy, yelling his name even though the odds of him being knocked out are pretty realistic. Had he even been remotely conscious I was sure he would've been the type of guy to get himself found and out. This guy had to be out cold. Which meant I'd have to carry him back outside.

Found him in the third bed room. I expected that. He was on the floor; face down, in a white looking shirt in the moving heated air. Some burning ceiling had fallen on him. Even more drama to add to this annoying situation.

I got down on my knees and brushed it off fast, grabbed his outstretched arms and stood, pulling him about an inch forward. Grabbed him roughly by the shoulders and pulled him up with hardly any strain. I could smell the adrenaline rolling in the sweat on my skin. And then I froze when I saw a familiar shape standing in the corner. Standing in shadow. Watching me.

I had the gun out and aimed firing. Gawked when it was so easily evaded in the twisting blackness. Smoke took that moment to rush at me as more of the ceiling fell in. I was cursing with no bounds at all. Shit that made no sense at all. He was heavy but I made myself balance him on my shoulders, hold him up and take slow yet hurried steps to the door.

I could hear laughter.

I cursed it, but never turned back.

Each step cracked, making my eyes bug out slightly, teeth gritted, and prayed the damn thing would hold. Embers fluttered like fireflies. My legs buckled but I didn't feel it. I only know it because I saw them. They seemed oddly numb. Blackened from walking through all the cloudy soot.

The second to last step broke. I fell forward hard on the floor. My legs woke up to a horrible red itching biting, immediately kicking. Hawkins was still gone on my back so I had a problem getting up. I clawed visibly into the floor, and made myself rise. I was staring at the blindingly white door frame. Welcoming cooing light. Light begging me to join it.

My brain felt fuzzy.

I was outside a minute later, on the ground, and feeling arms pulling at my body, picking me up. Someone was trying to take the gun that was tightly gripped in my hand. I growled at that someone and started cursing again in the blinding white and shadows. I was fighting them off. My legs hurt like hell.

I couldn't see.

Eventually, they got the idea and got off of me. I blinked my eyes several times, pointing the mussel of the pistol anywhere and everywhere around me, telling them more to back the hell off even though I couldn't see anything. My hands shook with the burning pain in my legs.

"GET AN ICEPACK!" Girl's voice. Not so wailing and upset now. More commanding. There is silence and a fresh cool breeze that brushed my back. Ecstasy. I knew I was shaking visibly, yet there was too much shit in my eyes to see anything at all. I felt the cold smoldering metal of the gun griped in my hand but didn't dare let it go despite how much it burned.

A cool hand grabbed my knee as something bit into my calves. I screamed, my hand flying out into the unknown, groping wildly in surprise. I wasn't in anyway to shoot. I catch fabric and hold it in a vice grip. I can hear female cooing, but feel lost in strange white and shadow around me to keep shaking. It's the wild desperation folds its waiting arms around me, not tight enough for me to throw the gun out of my hand, but enough to knock some sense into me.

"BAG! GET MY BAG!" I demand, still waving the thing around. I'm surprised no one tried to rip the thing out of my hand.

"GET THAT BAG!" She yells above the sirens so loudly I'm surprised. A painful itch as replaced the insane heat. I'm still blinking blinding, muttering about not being able to see. More cloth rubs against my arm in another long eternity of a second. I grasp it with the gun still in my hand, feeling for the opening somehow, find it, and dump it while I hold the back in my arms tightly still blinking.

Shivering and huddled into a feeble position, cool hand on me knee keeping my upright and a soft cool substance on the back of my legs, I take a long breath of clean air and let it out.

"Alright." I say.

I'm grabbed uncomfortably; arms pressing against my body, being carried as neatly as you can please, clutching the bag. My legs flare up in pain at the absence of that cool thing and I feel a scream coming on. Breathing ragged. I was loosing it.

And then there was that everlasting laughter.

My eyes were wide with it. The sound of it. That horrible, freakish sound, ringing and singing like haunted bells. Echoing incessantly. Over and over and over…as I claw at the still chest of the one carrying me, telling myself it wasn't that one laughing, there was no vibrating or breath on my tilted head. It was simply the game. The game. It's all about the game.

Sleep greeted me with a goodnight kiss.


	6. Seeing Outside the Box

Chapter 6: Seeing Outside the Box

I woke up later, my eye lids flicking open, yet seeing only black still. Had to be a glitch, I first assumed. Whatever the hellish virus was it had eaten into my screen, my sluggish dream-webbed head assumed. The back of my legs were bliss in something cool and wet; I wiggled my toes to test if they were still there while I blinked my eyes. It was like trying to hit the enter button to get out of a program. Enter. Enter. Enter. Enter…

Something creaked.

I grabbed the blanket hung over my shoulders tightly in a flinch. My ears strained for sound other than the beating of my heart. I shifted in the chair I had fallen asleep in, hard and dully warm wooden texture. I remained completely still, eyes hopelessly open and blind, trying to detect breathing. I got it after two minutes.

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale…

"I can hear you breathing." I said aloud in an irritated tone. Someone sucked in a breath tightly. I listened intently for a moment, waiting for a name of some sort to drift loudly into my ears. There was silence. I frowned, getting more annoyed.

"I may be blind for the moment, but I'm not deaf." I snarled.

"Sorry." Said a voice to my left. I titled my head in that direction. I had actually half expected it to be Seto, but this voice sounded more like a kid than his Like it could've been playful. It was being timid right now. I let my expression soften.

"…It's alright. I'd just like to know when someone's in the room, that's all."

"I thought you were sleeping." I furrowed my brow.

"After I started talking?"

"You had been talking in your sleep a while ago." This was news to me.

"What did I say?" I asked.

"Nothing important."

I doubted that. I wondered whether to confront him about this now. He sounded like a nice kid. People can be deceiving. I held the blanket in tight fists. I knew this place was starting to have an effect. This was just a game. Yet I feel close to death at times were I feel myself falter. I knew it was probably all these extra senses that caused the illusion. I could feel the itch on my eyes and the warm air swirling in my lungs.

I let it out in a weary hiss.

"Where am I?" I asked with a soft, almost menacing tone.

"My house. The Game Shop. My Grandpa was there when you rescued Rebecca's grandfather. They're old friends. Thank you for saving him." It had a kindly ring. I had a bitter smile.

"Don't. Had to do it." I heard a chair squeal as he pulled it closer. I can imagine him sitting down.

"Had to?" I nodded sharply. If his Grandfather and…Rebecca's grandfather were such good friends, if boy's grandfather is bound to know something about Egypt. It was worth a shot to ask the kid incase he over heard anything, though it was a bit slim. I could only nose around and hope. Not much else I can do without my eyesight.

"Yeah. I have to ask some questions. He's an Archeologist isn't he?"

"Yes, he's also a Professor." His voice is curious, yet I hear slight avoidance. I was smiling by that time though, couldn't stop it.

"Even better. Need to look up some history. About a Pharaoh called Atem." There was silence. Such silence; we're you could hear the fuzz in it, like on a tape recorder. Almost like you can hear the atoms moving that made up that air. Loud and strangely ominous. I lean back against my chair slowly, still blinking in hopes of scratching that itch a little. It was maddening.

"Do you have eye drops?" I asked but got no answer. It was like a red flag. I place my feet down, submerging my toes and feeling the smooth plastic of the bucket. I sat up tall, ignoring the flaring pain in the back of my legs. I let go of the blanket and place my open hands on my lap, trying to look calm and relaxed. I listen and only hear a creeping sort of breathing. I ask again much louder.

"Yes." Different voice. I furrow my brow a confused. When had I missed him coming in? When the kid was talking? Couldn't have been just now, I would've heard it. I hear him get up and walk somewhere, a little away, hear shifting in an enclosed space, like a cabinet, stop, and footsteps coming back. I take a cool plastic bottle lands softly in my hand, and fingers are quickly removed before I clasp it.

I recoil when I put the stuff in my eyes, aware of the fact that I really didn't know what he gave me. I had to trust. It was hard enough putting this stuff in my eyes. I claimed my eyes shut reaction, holding my hands up close to my eyes to protect them.

"You alright?" Same new voice. I nod not trusting my voice. Never had to use eye drops before. I was always careful when it came to my eyes. They are my primary sense. I'm blinking slowly, feeling unnerved.

I kept blinking up nothing was coming. I felt around for a table or something to get up on. I'd wash my eyes out with water if I had to. A warm hand grabbed my outstretched hand to help me. I was opening my mouth to snarl at him when something inside shuddered. I froze, eyes shut, confused by the lack of feeling of skin. It was not soft. It was rough. Not skin at all I slowly realized. I flexed my hand and felt something covering it, that rough uncomfortable material. Uncomfortable like-

Gloves. It was the goddamn gloves around my hands. THE GODDAMN GLOVES! Malfunction. Had to be. Another glitch. It was hope. A strange hope that I wasn't allowed to fully think about. It was kept under tight chains in the back of my head, like where that fear of be coming brain dead had gone, and I was disallowed to think about.

But something was wrong. I still felt his grip outside of the cloth, warm and tight. There was no sound. He wasn't breathing for some reason. I tried to pull my hand away but couldn't. He had a vice grip around me. I opened my eyes despite my lack of sight to glare at him, growl at him to let me go or else.

I was met with the vision of the screen, a dull blue, folded three ways to cover my eyes like before. My eyes widened in disbelief. I was back. The game had to have been shut off. The humming of the machine there, but voices were loud over it. So loud. They didn't make any sense at first. Just incomprehensible screaming and bellowing. I forced my brain to listen.

"I WANT THAT BASTARD OUT OF THE SYSTEM NOW!"

"Sir, we're trying everything-"

"STOP TRYING AND DO IT!"

"You yelling doesn't help shit so sit down!"

"AND WHY ARE YOU TALKING!"

"Because this is a delicate process! We need to track the bad program and delete it without fouling up any of the other connections. A wrong move and we could possibly kill our own member."

"We already lost the other six, what going to happen if we lose one more?"

"You heartless-"

"Why can't we just shut the system off!"

"BECAUSE SHE'S STILL IN THERE!"

"And?"

"How about this for you, you sniveling piece of shit, we shut down the program, she dies. She dies, we get an investigation, and the whole project goes all to fricking hell. Get it? Besides, she's lasted longer than the others. We still have a chance to get her out…PUT THE GODDAMN CIGARETTE OUT! You're hurting my eyes."

"Sorry..."

"HER EYES ARE OPEN!"

I shuddered and lifted my hand to remove the helmet from my head. Didn't move. Pinned to the chair. A tight grip was still curled around my hand. Could hear ragged breathing that wasn't mine. Felt my eyes widen and knew I wasn't controlling them. Something was very wrong.

Shuddering small earthquakes tremored into my body from the chair. Heard thuds as well, stomping faster and faster until they were very close, like a stampeded. The button on the side of my head was pressed hard, making my head move to the right. The screen flipped up immediately and the frightened gray eyes of one of the five boys were staring.

"Drayce?" He whispered. A shadow of a person moved behind the boy, smoke trailing behind him, as one of the white coated men I had met before leaned over the youth's shoulder. His eyes were a fierce blue, calculating and studying.

"There appears to be no other movement. She's still deep in the REM Phase. Interesting. This has never happened before…"

"So she's still sleeping?" Asked a drawling bored voice.

"I would think so, yes."

"Wonderful." Same bored tone.

"…Does anyone else remembering her having purple eyes?" One of the boys in the background asked curiously. Those gray November eyes widened.

"N-no. They were brown before…"

"Are you sure?" Serious tone.

"Of course he's sure! He'd know since he looks at her so goddamn much." The gray-eyed boy turned away and glared to my left with angry yet embarrassed eyes.

"I do not!"

"Liar."

"At least I don't get a hard-on like you do."

"BOYS!" It ended the squabble for now. A flicker or rage was still in his face when he turned back to look at me again with studying eyes. Smoke drifted lazily over his head.

"Doctor, has anything like this ever happened before?" The blue eyed doctor stared with unsettled gaze.

"…no." There was silence. For a moment.

"Then what the hell is going on?" A seething whisper that sounded like crackling leaves asked.

"…I don't know." Another shudder. The grip crushed down so hard I was sure I was going to scream. I felt myself drifting back. Away. Into a grayish black haze. Someone was breathing unsettled next to me. Eyes wide I submerged in the depths, hearing someone yelling.

"We're losing her!"

I was already lost.

And back to my frozen form with a raggy glove around my hand and a human hand holding it. Wet and clammy. Unsettled breath floating like wind. The tremoring though was of my own creation. The blackness was gone and I was standing in a kitchen. The bag was by the wooden chair was sitting in.

I eyed it for only a moment before I ripped my hand away from his, and fell forward, into a roll, dove my hand in the bag and pulled the metal butt of the gun out, feeling the floor hold my back as the chair tipped and clattered, water from the bucket splashed but didn't spill. As I spun out of the roll and onto my side, gun pointed up, legs moaning with pain, glaring at the boy standing in front and above me at a slight angle.

He was looking at me with wide purples eyes.

"Who are you!" I asked in a quiet hiss, pointing the gun at him. Not very rigidly. My arm wouldn't stop quivering. Steadied it with my other hand. My breath was a wheeze.

This guy was more than a damn program. I don't know what the hell he is. Don't even know how he did it. This guy had just hacked my body and used my eyes. Used. My. Eyes. Made them his own, actually.

_Does anyone else remembering her having purple eyes?_

He looked at me. Looked with confused almost terrified gaze. His face had gone a milk-white. His hair was wild and tri colored. Red, black, yellow. Wore a blue coat, black pants, black tank top. Gold item around his neck in the shape of an upside down pyramid. Pyramid. I realized rather nervously he looked exactly like the idiot on the tablet. He was still staring with confused purple eyes.

He took a step back.

"W-what are you?" I frowned at him, still seething with anger. This was the kid. He didn't realize I was pointing a gun at him. Looked like he was close to having a damn breakdown.

"I'm human. What the hell are _you_?" I asked. He still looked confused. Different confused though. His eyes were unfocused now, almost like someone was whispering softly into his ear. Hell, I could've sworn _I_ heard a voice under the fuzzy silence. He didn't move. Not at all. We stared at each other, waiting for the next move. I sat there trying not to think about anything, but found that wasn't working. I was rattled.

I put the gun away fumingly.

"Of all the bullshit…" I was muttering under my breath as I pushed myself stiffly off the ground, aware he was watching me, ignoring the burning in my legs. When I was upright he was still looking with suspicion and uneasiness. Didn't blame him. It was becoming more and more apparent that he hadn't meant to do that, nor expected it. Dusting off my clothes I kept my eyes on him. Picked up my bag and slung in on my shoulder, still staring. Didn't put the gun away, though.

This was getting me nowhere.

"Look," I said, brushing my hair back on my head with one hand with a sigh, "I don't know who you are, or how the hell you even just did that, and I don't care. What I want is to finish this and go home. For the way you're looking at me, you probably want me out of here too, I'm guessing, so we have a mutual goal, right?" He frowned.

"That's not what I'm thinking." I felt a grin slide on my face in amusement.

"Alright, what _were_ you thinking?"

"I didn't want you out of here." I waited for him to continue, but he didn't. There was more to be said. Knew that. He was smart by holding his tongue. Still wondered what he had been thinking, but didn't say. I refrained from shaking my head in the growing annoyance, holding the gun loosely in my hand.

"Okay. Whatever. The point is you get my drift. And if you can oblige to answer a couple of questions for me, then I'll be out of your hair. Capisca?"

He had the most distant look I have ever seen. His eyes down and unfocused. It was hauntingly familiar. Horrifically similar to an expression I'd seen before. Like he had slipped somewhere, through a crack or something, and he wasn't here at all. Like he was somewhere bad, but bad was too weak a word. Like nothing here was real and he was getting a special glimpse of hell, all for himself.

Violet eyes down and pointed unfocused at the gun.

Even I stared at it for a moment, biting my lip, thinking, before shoving it out of view in the back band of my pants, lifting my shirt to cover it, and stood there a moment, staring. He was my age in his face, sure, but his eyes were different. Not hard. More like a child's eyes than I could have ever believed.

Couldn't help tilting my head, knowing some of it had to do with shock, but there was another lurking factor of the dramatic change. I could've sworn they had been an entirely different _shade_ of purple. Was it the lighting in here?

Gooseflesh traveled down my arms, like the temperature had gone down fast and it was cold. _Like_, being the key word here ladies and gents, because it had gotten no colder. It was like the air around this kid was bewitched, invisible shimmering you could only feel in your gut when he concentrated. It didn't feel _wrong._ It just wasn't _normal_.

He still didn't move.

The next thing I did was just plain weird. I remember thinking that a hot drink might help the kid. I blink my eyes once and I have a white mug in front of me in one hand, and the faucet tap in the other. Steam is rising in my face, tingling my skin. I shut it closed and pick up the spoon from the counter top that hadn't been there a minute ago and start stirring the brown powder briskly as I narrowed my eyes confused. Chocolate wafted and smelled better than home, which was creepy.

I walked briskly next to him, still stirring until I banged the spoon lightly on the side of the mug, and took his hand and curled the mug around it. Both of us flinched at the cloth texture between my hands and his. I only let go when he had it tight, almost a fist from the shock, before I pushed him down onto the seat again with the other hand. More cloth weirdness there.

I picked up the container of hot chocolate while shutting off the sink, trying to remember where the stuff went. I ended up having to follow my feet in some sort of eerie game of follow your nose, or rather your gut. I put it in one of the bottom cabinets, more to the left than right of the sink. I was pleasantly surprised and rather miffed.

Lifted the chair and put it right before I sat down, stiffly, and took out the gun so I could sit back properly, twirled in my fingers for a moment before removing the bag from my shoulder and put it in there. Then putting the bag on the floor before I let myself look at him.

He was staring at me; perhaps a little surprised, maybe not, I can't tell; never was very good with people. Always felt a sort of unhinged uneasy feeling of 'what should I do or say next?' I guess it's having too much time to think sometimes. What I'm trying to say is I don't do well with people, and he was acting more human than a program should. That was scaring me.

But I had to remind myself that I was sitting next to a hologram.

"Nice to see someone can get as zoned out as me, but at the moment I don't think it's suits you." He blinked, and then smiled. That suited him far better, I found after a second. My lips twitched. I almost smiled back. Held it in tightly.

I settled to nod at him once and shifted a bit in my chair, locating the bag incase I needed it in a hurry, and then settled to looking at my hands or the floor. God this was strange. Couldn't help an embarrassed sort of expression from spreading on my face.

"You use to this kind of thing?" I asked as smoothly as I could. A pause.

"…You could say that…"

"Different line of weird, maybe?"

"Maybe."

"How about definitely?" No reply to that one. I shrugged it off.

"Doesn't matter. I'm not use to this either. This line of strange, anyway…so don't worry about it too much. It can't be-"

"You knew those people." I flinched at the sudden shift of serious in his voice. I didn't answer.

"From the vision."

"Vision's a bit too big of a word." I muttered. There was that straggled sort of silence.

"Yeah, I knew them."

"Who were they?"

"Who's Atem?" I countered. We sat in another pocket of fuzzy sound, both us breathing silently. Not looking at each other. Both of us irritated for all I know.

"I can't tell you that."

"By the looks of things, kiddo, we both have secrets we can't give up then." I said. Looking back now, kiddo was a weird word to use with a guy that was my age, but what can you do? What's done is done. Doesn't make me feel any less like an idiot though.

"I'm going to find out, you know that don't you?" I said to him, not looking at him but at my hands lying relaxed in my lap. Or rather only thinking I was looking at my hands. The illusion was spectacular. Freakishly so.

"Maybe not from you but someone else that knows. One man can't keep a secret like you've got all to himself. You gotta know that."

"And what about _your_ secret?" He asked. I chuckled a moment, picking up my bag and getting out of the chair. It was time to go before he decided to stop me, weather by words or force. I stopped at the door on my way out, picking up my shoes with the socks stuffed in them.

"I never said a _woman_ couldn't keep a secret all to herself, now did I?" I grinned at him.

"My names Drayce, in case you're wondering."

"Yugi Mutou."

"See you around Yugi Mutou." I was gone.

Author Note:

('Capisca' in English is 'understand'. I couldn't figure out how to spell 'Ca-pesh'?)


	7. Navy Hat Silence

Chapter 7: Navy Hat Silence

I got a soda at one of the stores three blocks up. Drank it in one hand while dangling my shoes in the other. If I got any weird looks at having my pant legs rolled up walking down a sideway with no shoes on, I didn't see any of them. I wasn't about to roll my jeans back down with the itch attack on the back of my calves either. I sat down when I found a park bench, swishing my soda as I rested my forearms on my thighs and started at the cement between my feet.

Yugi was now crossed off my list. The strange encounter with this Yugi Mutou character had proved interesting. I wrote down secret next. The black ink dribbled. I was left looking at it blankly for a few minutes, unthinking, just existing, before finally putting the paper and pen away.

Something had been weird about him.

More than that whole wake up in reality session, I mean. There was something else. I couldn't put my finger on it no matter how many times I tried. It was one of those things were if you tried grabbing it, it would just slip between your fingers like sand and flirt around in your head until you just got pissed at it.

Decided it was better to drop it and enjoy this world's substitute for Coca Cola and ignore the itch of my legs, or it starting to spread over the exposed parts of my skin and the charred parts of my shirt. I admit I was a bit shocked at the damage. While leaning my back onto the bench fully, arms hung over the back of that seat, and watch the sky and the people walking narrow mindedly around each other.

It was the most relaxed I had ever felt in public before. I didn't know if that should scare me or not and didn't really care. I just swished the bubbly liquid inside the can, not thinking about anything. Or trying not to.

I was more bothered by what was going on the inside. I was trying not to go back to that little scene. It had shaken me more that I wanted to admit. I don't think I have ever been so vividly awake in my life before. Even worse, the kid's face seemed to be photographed in my head, and kept popping up like a screen saver.

The more it came up, the more I gritted my teeth at how scared he looked, or the strange curious expression as I left him there, to the point where I slammed the soda down and stood up so quickly I got several strange looks. Fuming already, I yelled some curses that rewarded me with mother's holding their children's ears and running off.

I leaned down to pick the drink back up, deciding in a weird way to toast it. Bang. Needle like pain strikes like a cobra at my neck. At first I thought it was a bee, stumbled forward a bit, then reached up and pulled the thing out. Rubbed it around in my hand before finally figuring out it _was_ a dart. Then, out goes the lights.

Woke up later extremely pissed off and without my gun. They also thought it cute to tie me up in a chair. I was dizzy for a few moments as I picked my head up and winced at my sore neck. They were talking, blah, blah, blah. One male voice, calm, collective, explain, explain, explain. Electrical computer talk that did not help my mood at all.

"Will you shut up?" I snarled. The short silence was bliss, but bliss never lasts long.

"Bright eyed and bushy tailed I see." Another sarcastic voice for my memory, thank you.

"She won't be very accommodating now I don't suppose?" said the male explainer.

"No, I won't think so." Said a very familiar female voice in a seething voice. Oh great, the Kaiba-Baby-Girl was here. Did I do something in a past life to deserve this? I was considering my karma when the sarcastic male replied.

"With you in the room, I doubt it."

"What is _that _suppose to mean?"

"Harti." Said the explainer.

"Why, I don't know Sibby, you're still hostile from when she talked to your precious little Kaiba Baby sugar coated sweet heart, why should she want to talk?"

"Oh God." Said the explainer, spiraling into doom.

"You don't like him because he disagrees with Yami. If he was friends with him, you'd think he's cool, and you wouldn't be saying a thing about it. That and you're jealous as all hell." Cackling laughter finally brought my eyes up from my feet to the two bickering teens in front of me. The girl had fiery wood colored eyes, and black hair. The boy opposite of her, his arms crossed and looking down at her, gloating with green eyes and dirty brown hair.

"Oh that's it." He said, mockingly. She pointed up at him, considering he had at least a foot on her, and spoke slow and menacing.

"Yeah, that's it! You're jealous because I adore him, and not you! Admit it!" A shift of movement to the side of them was another boy; dark haired and dark eyed with round glasses sitting on the end of his nose, covered his eyes and shook his head, as if they were all doomed. Green eyes rolled them.

"Oh yeah, I want to bow down and worship the ground you walk on and lick the crud of your high heels."

I saw a smile flicker on dark eyes face for a brief second before he turned in his wheelie chair to the computer behind him with hunched shoulders. She, I caught her name as Sibby, looked at him so hard I was sure her face would crack. Green eyes stared back with indifference.

And then I noticed the scribbling. The simple sound of pen on paper. Nearly silent, but scratchy. Only almost silent because it was so close. I looked to my left and nearly jumped out of my skin. Another person sat on the floor right next to my chair. I couldn't see a face, just a wide navy brimmed hat. He/She/ It were pale skinned. Could tell from the fingers gripping the pen and writing fast on the lined paper of a note book.

My heart was slamming in my chest. I was uncomfortable. I hadn't noticed her until now. Usually, I can tell when someone is that close to me, even from behind. It just freaked me out. I was trembling all over in a matter of minutes. Even worse I couldn't figure out why I was freaking out. Scribble, scribble, scribble.

My fingers fluttered, gripped the knotted smooth lace around my wrists. Felt the knot with the tips of my nails. Weren't amateurs. It was just out of reach. Tried shuffling a little but the thing wasn't going anywhere. I let out an annoyed snort. It was unnoticed in the continuing argument. Bicker, bicker, bicker. Dark eyes were trying to smooth it all over.

"Guys, we have other things to worry about right now, and we put this to rest and concentrate on helping the Pharaoh?" My ears perked. Fingers punched keys. I could hear the clicking distinctly.

"The Pharaoh? What about Kaiba? Someone tried shooting him yesterday! He could be in danger!" Girly-girl Sibby said. I rolled my eyes, kept feeling the knot, pulling and shuffling. Picked at the nylon.

"Kaiba this. Kaiba that. Kaiba, Kaiba, Kaiba! That's all you worry about! This world is getting ripped to shreds by a couple of over analyzing computer freaks- no offense Tabber-"

"None taken, Harti." Said dark eyes, pushing his glasses up, still typing furiously.

"-that think a bunch of random codes are fun to screw around with. Your little Kaiba sweetie is not the main concern."

"He is part of it! He helps too! It's not all Pharaoh and company, you unfeeling bastard!" Sibby screamed, slamming her foot down, before spinning and storming away through a door in the far corner of the room. I was rolling my eyes again. Scribble, scribble, scribble.

"Women." Harti said in a disgusted tone, before sitting heavily into a wheelie chair and throwing his legs up onto the table next to Tabber's monitor. He glanced when he stopped typing for a moment, before continuing. Harti placed his hands behind his head, closing his eyes.

"They're hyped up on hormones." He muttered. Then:

"Have you taken control of the mainframe, yet?" Tabber shook his head.

"No, they still have bits of it. I have the personality files, building codes, nature codes all that stuff."

"What don't you have?"

"Game controls. The cheats. They're very untrusting."

"And the 'corrupt file'?"

"Still can't find him." I lowered the knot, and started picking at it with my nails. I was in business. Looking around, I spotted my bag, a black lump, on the desk to the side of them. Way I could see it, if I was quiet enough, I could sneak over and grab it, maybe even sneak out. I glanced at the navy hat perched on the person's head next to me. Still scribbling. It would be hard. Knock 'em out maybe? With what?

Looking around the dusty computer-part littered floor, I found none of it close enough to grasp. How very convenient for them. Pulling, jiggling. It was coming loose. Maybe I could just shove them, grab the bag, pull out the gun, and make an escape. I was almost there, I found feel the rope lacking, when there was movement next to me.

Navy Hat got up. Note pad and pen were placed gently on my lap as I looked up. She was a girl about my age, silver-eyed with brown hair with no expression. I felt the floor shake in the chair as she walked behind me. I grabbed the knot in my hands and didn't let go. I wasn't going to let her at them, not after all that work. I gritted my teeth hard enough to ache.

She uncurled my fingers. I held in a shaky agitated breath. The ropes were moved. Plan A was gone down the tubes. Plan B was slamming a chair against the wall and arm myself with a chair leg. I was placing my feet so I could spring up and take her unaware.

The ropes fell from my wrists and my arms left to my sides. I looked behind her, a little startled. She came back around and took the note pad and pen from my lap and started to write again. I looked up at her warily, stood, didn't move for a few moments. Glance. Harti had his eyes closed and appeared to be sleeping. Tabber was staring contently at the screen. Navy Hat simply kept writing.

I grabbed my bag off the table quietly and replaced the gun on my person, replaced a pen behind my own ear then looked back. Navy Hat still hadn't moved, or spoken, or do anything to grab my attention. She stood there and kept writing. It was the strangest thing I had ever seen. Strange enough to keep me there, leaning against the wall, watching the three of them. Perhaps they weren't as good as I thought.

Sibby came back irritated. Seemed she didn't get everything off her chest. The irritation turned to shock when she saw me. I pointed my gun at her. Navy Hat still didn't move. Tabber kept typing. Harti kept sleeping. Sibby glared venomously. I yawned.

"Guys." Sibby said.

"Hm?" Tabber asked distractedly.

"Do you know Drayce has escaped?" Harti opened his eyes and looked at the both of us the same time Tabber spun around. Navy Hat still kept writing.

"I have a couple of questions." I said. Harti stretched, sat up, and looked at us boredly.

"Yeah?"

"Who is she?" I jerked the gun at Navy Hat. Tabber looked a little surprised.

"You mean Silence?"

"Silence?"

"Yeah, we call her Silence because she never talks. We don't even know her name. She's never said a word. It was Tabber's nickname." Harti said, yawning, "Why?" I looked at Navy Hat. Her eyes stayed down and she continued her scribbling.

"Ever read anything she's written?" I asked.

"No." Harti replied, "She doesn't let us near her note books." I considered this.

"You mentioned the Pharaoh. Where is he?"

"Can't tell you that." I sighed, thought about giving her a bullet in the arm to get them talking, but decided against it. One of them was the good shooter. One of them was bound to have a gun. Odd that they hadn't pulled it out yet. Shrugged.

"Ah well. Back to the Mutou." I muttered, heading towards the door, and then stopped at all the wide-eyed expressions. Silence kept writing.

"You know Yugi Mutou?" Harti asked, eyes gleaming. I looked at him warily.

"Yeah."

"Pale kid? Spiky yellow, red, black hair? Short? Purple eyes?"

"Yeah, I met him." Harti looked at me with a twisted expression.

"Wait, you _spoke_ to him?" Tabber asked. He looked shocked.

"Yeah…why?" The three of them suddenly found the walls interesting.

"No reason." Said Sibby. This was suspicious, obviously. Scribble, scribble, scribble. Tabber watched me closely.

"A friend of his, Rebecca, took me to his house," I said casually, not looking at them, "Got burned in a fire. We spoke briefly, and then I left. I got a soda, then you darted me."

"What did you talk about?"

"Not much. He said he couldn't tell me about the Pharaoh. A secret of his, I assume. I have an idea of where to start looking. What happened to the six other players? I know you know…" Tabber looked at the floor while Harti stared interestedly at her.

"They were killed." Harti said bluntly. Silence's pen stopped moving for a moment.

"I know that. How were they killed?"

"In a duel. They got a gun instead of a deck of cards. The monsters killed them. Why aren't _you_ dead?" I shrugged.

"Don't know, don't care. I have business to attend to, however." I motioned with the gun for Sibby to move as I walked towards the door. She was staring at me seething. I gave a smile in return, watching all of them at once. I opened the door and felt wind at my back, took a glance and saw the docks that went with a huge ocean. Good.

"I'd appreciate not getting shot at, tied up, or followed anymore, by the by. Next time, I will do something about it." I shut the door softly, backing away from it before walking quickly down the paved away between the building and the wooden ports. Ships bobbed quietly in the water with the swells. I walked along the line of warehouses, that's what I was in; warehouses were the smell of fish was strong with the salt.

It took awhile, but I found the way back to the city. I had to walk about a mile through the little maze the place created, and my feet hurt, but I found it. I penned down Harti, Tabber, Sibby, and Silence down on my paper. It was getting pretty crumpled now. I had the names of the Hackers now, so when I finished I could report them. Until then, I just hoped they didn't screw around too much.

Harti claimed the place was going to hell, torn into tiny pieces by 'a couple of over analyzing computer freaks'. I assume he means my employers. I knew some of their work was weak. It had been far too easy for them to hack in, that's for sure.

I also assumed he was a hot shot with a pistol. Surprised he didn't try to keep me there. They went to all the trouble of tying me up, you'd think they'd take out a gun and try to stop you; maybe he just likes to sneak up on people. I glanced over my shoulder and found no stalking figures.

But there was Silence. She was standing there, her hat shielding her eyes from view, and the pen still scribbling on paper. She was walking towards me, I watched her do it casually. She stopped next to me. Still scribbling. I noted the choppy shuffled old look of the note book, her hands holding it like a feather, tilted up so I could not see her words.

"They send you to follow me?" I asked.

Scribble. Pen in. Sketch, dribble, scribble. I shoved my hands into my pockets, and couldn't help but smile a little bit before starting to walk again.

"Alright, just keep up with me." I said over my shoulder. Soon I heard her footsteps behind me, a bit closer than before, and then I could see her in the corner of my eye, walking just to the side of me.

We walked. Hours ticked by. The sun sunk lower into the concrete forest. The windows glistened like melting ice, glows red like liquid fire. The people jostled, moved like a stream, opposite directions. Businessmen, school girls, late waitresses, whooping teenage boys, and old ladies out shopping. The sidewalk is its own eco system.

I pulled out the crumbled paper, trying to think. Going to see Yugi again would be idiotic. Tight-lipped, he'd be on guard when I got there. Joey Wheeler seemed like a good choice, and seemly enough like a moron to perhaps get something out of 'em. Then there was this Bakura. I hadn't heard anything about this kid, hell; I didn't have his last name. And what kind of name is Bakura? Sure, Yugi is pretty god damn weird, but Bakura? That took another notch up on the strange scale.

I decided to hunt him down first.

Better to leave the easy stuff last.

Believe me on _that_.


	8. Acquaintance of the White Haired Kind

Chapter 8: Acquaintance of the White-Haired Kind

I found the phone booth. Silence and I were both cooped up in that thing like a couple of chickens. I leaned over the yellow pages, repeating the kid's name, wondering perhaps he'd be listed. I was being hopeful. Silence stood behind me, still writing in fluent pen strokes. Was it just me, or did they seem smoother than before?

I blinked, surprised when I found a Bakura listed in the phone book. Turned out it was a last name. Interesting. Friends sometimes call each other by the last names. Then again, so do enemies. I was thinking about it as I dialed the number, the receiver pressed against my ear as I hummed a little bit. Ringing. I hummed a bit while it rang.

Then:

"Hello?"

"Hi! Is a Bakura there?"

"Speaking." Now what? I twirled the phone chord around my finger, deciding that I should have thought out a plan to this before calling. I hate being an idiot.

"Erm…Did you volunteer to help set up the Egyptian section of the Emerald Museum?" I made up some random name. A pause.

"…No, I don't recall volunteering for that role, how did you get my name?"

"A Mr. Hawkins must have mentioned you; my superior must have wanted me to call... Would you have any interest in volunteering?" I invented, making my voice a chipper secretary as I picked the phone chord. A pause.

"No, no thank you. I have some things I must attend to."

"Oh yes, of course, wouldn't want to detain you. My boss wrote one more thing on his sticky note here…ah yes, we were hoping to contact a Mr. Yugi Mutou, it seems he has an artifact that was supposively belonged to a Pharaoh Atem-"

There was a sharp click and the dial tone kicked in.

Hung up.

I stared at the phone, startled, before slamming it down on the hook seething.

"Shit!" I snarled. I did not seem to have very good luck with phones. I scribbled down the address of Bakura before flipping around and found a column of Wheelers. I took down all their addresses, there were ten in all. I sighed.

It was going to be a long day.

I visited six of them ten by evening. My face hurt from smiling so much and coming up with a bunch of idiot schemes. Most of them was I went to school with Joey and wanted to know when school started, or what our homework was, or if he could come out and play. Silence trekked behind me, living up to her name fully.

After the sixth, after getting told to go the hell away and having the door slammed into my face, I decided it was time to take a break. I found a fast food place and put some of that 'burrowed' money to good use. I got four burgers, two boxes of French fries, and two large sodas. I gave Silence her half of the feast and pulled the ketchup bottle. I commenced shooting my burgers up, squeezed and watched the vegetable red ooze before taking a big bite. I don't know the last time I ate. I felt hungry. Part of me wondered if they were letting me starve to death out there.

Silence took her burger with one hand, and wrote with the other. Her eyes never left the page beneath the hat brim. I didn't expect a thank you anyway. I took out the crumpled paper, now looking a lot like graffiti, and drew a line next to Bakura and wrote 'knows something'. I wolfed down both my burgers and was picking at my fries while leaning on one hand. I watched the cars go by outside. Bright blinding lights moving like living comets.

I sighed.

"This is getting ridiculous." I muttered to Silence.

It was more like talking to myself. I didn't say anymore. What else was there to say? This whole thing seemed like stop and go. Stop, go, and go again. Halt! That sort of junk. This was breakdown lane. I was drumming my fingers, sipping my soda, waiting for her to finish her meal. It's surprising how fast one adjusted to having company. I didn't even know her and I was hanging around like we were best friends. I didn't even feel awkward at all.

When she stood up, the action said that she was done and it was time to go. One of the waitresses took it and looked at me funny when I left. I ignored it, but studied her face just in case. Short brown hair and blue eyes. She was pretty to look at. I could see some boys staring and drooling in different booths. On her name tag it said Tea. I filed it in my brain and left.

It was cooler outside, and my eyes adjusted against the dark in seconds. The whirling comets kept chasing each other, some blaring horns, others vibrating the air with bass. Silence still wrote even though it seemed too dark for it. I wondered if she could see the page when a blast of frost bit into the back of my neck, making the hair there stand like privates before a general.

For a moment, through the corner of my eye I was sure I saw someone watching me, but as expected, when I turned there was no one. Glance at Silence and found there was no reaction with her. That was usual too. I yawned and decided it was time to find a place to sleep. A near-by bench was the only thing that presented itself.

I waited for Silence to stop her writing and pull her hat down. I waited long after I heard her breath change as she sunk into sleep. I waited with tired drooping eyes before I finally saw the shift. I blinked sharply to wake myself up, stretched, and gazed boredly across the street.

He moved like a patch of midnight. I was rather impressed, but didn't show it as I watched him approach. His coat fluttered a bit, with his hair, a bright silvery white that seemed impossible to me to have been hidden before. The locks hid his face. His hands stayed in his pockets. He had a walk that crept without trying. He came towards me like a shadow. And I waited for him.

He stopped about two feet in front of me, face still hidden, and trench coat swaying to a stand still as the wind stopped. The street lights around us glowed softly and created more shadow. I had my hand resting on the butt of my gun.

"Was it you?" he asks in a different voice. I frowned immediately. This was not stranger, nor anyone did I know. I had expected the Bakura-kid at least, or maybe one of the Hackers. This voice was totally new and held a dark sharp edge. I looked at him warily.

"Was what?" I asked in my own dark tone. It sounded more kid-like than I wanted. I could sense him smiling with amusement.

"Did you call?"

"That depends on if you're the kid, and you sound nothing like him." I replied. Silence dozed quietly to the side of me. The pen was still in her hand. It didn't even quiver. A tilting moment.

"You're looking for the Pharaoh?" he asked.

"Yeah." I said, "You know something?"

"I know everything." He replied. I raised my eyebrows at this. My hand still remained hovering above the metal grip. Silence still didn't move.

"Are you inviting me to ask questions?"

"Are you willing to pay?" More consideration. Somehow I found the whole thing amusing.

"What if I shoot you?"

"You'd be hurting Bakura."

"So you're saying you are Bakura."

"No."

"Then how would I be hurting the kid?"

"He's here. He's just asleep. You could say I was _borrowing_ him."

"Borrowing huh." I said, a smile twisting onto my face.

"I can prove it."

"Nah. Demons seem to be popping out of the cracks for me enough, no need to wake the poor kid up." I said, waving my hand boredly. He finally lifted his face enough for me to catch dark brown eyes with a pale white face. Serious look. I considered him again.

"You don't look like the type to share." I said thoughtfully.

"I usually don't."

"Or play fair." A wicked smile.

"An observant one, aren't we?"

"I get around…what's the price you were thinking of?" I raised my eyebrows again when he shook his head. Something jingled loudly near him. I traced a brown chord near his neck curiously. Thing it led to was covered.

"No, that little offer is gone."

"Too smart?" I asked. He shook his head. I smiled anyway. After some silence I realized what had to be coming next.

"You're going to try and kill me now?" I asked, humored. He smirked something wide. Of course he'd try to kill me. I knew where he lurked. Beasts and evil kings hate for the goody-two-shoes to know where their secret lairs where. That took the fun out of everything.

"I would've anyway, deal or no deal." I knew he was being honest.

I stared at him a moment, before shrugging and getting to my feet, and lazily pulled the pistol out. At the sight of it, he started laughing. I paid no attention. Just pulled the clip out and looked at it carefully before slapping it back in. Glancing at him again, I found he had pulled out a heaping deck of cards.

"Monster cards?" I asked. He looked through them with a calculating look.

"Yes, you've done this before?" He asked, a little curiously.

"You could say that…any rules?" He shook his head, pulled out a card, and I knew it from the smirk he had started his own game.

And I watched it form in a whirl of wind and light, looking up with a dull look of boredom as a creature twice my size rose up against me. Something with pinchers, I assume some sort of bug, standing on two tree trunk sized legs and arms equally wide. It roared and the ground quaked, drove up my legs and made them feel it.

I pointed my gun and aimed for on of the black eyes. It should go through and take out the brain. The only time I had ever felt this calm before was down in the museum basement. That had been a near death experience. I figured this should be the time I was defeated.

Silence moved in front of me before I could squeeze the trigger. It's strange how fast you can change from one emotion to the other. The calm was slammed down into nothing by a greater force of frightened panic. I reached out to grab her arm, shove her out of the way, and I did grab her arm, but found something clasped tightly in her hands.

A deck of cards.

An ocean of whirling wind and bright blazing light hit again, but seemed more dazzling because it was aided my surprise. I heard the distant roar of something before watching it appear in complete white light, like the other monster had, but far more massive. Watched two great wings unfurl and dim as a huge roar exploded around us. The card in her fingers flapped slightly, but her silver eyes stared on at him.

I watched the immense white dragon hover slightly in front of its master, a creature three times my size and fiercer than his. I watched Silence wave her hand out in a gesture towards his monster, felt the prickling sense of familiarity. It was lost when an orb suddenly blossomed inside the dragon's mouth, grew in size as its jaws widened, and finally get out a blast of white light that made me cover my eyes.

When the light died down, the bug-monster was gone, a smoking spot was left. Silence was looking meaningful at him. He was glaring back at her with almost black angry eyes.

"When did you obtain the fourth Blue Eyes White Dragon?" He asked heatedly.

Silence said nothing. Held her deck tightly and looked at him with eyes made of silver flame. She answered with a wave of her arm, and the Blue Eyes attacked again. He blocked, somehow, I don't know. Held something up in a fist that glittered bright gold against the blast, and I saw the faint blackened shadow of a circle and triangle.

Lights dimmed and I saw an eye that looked much like Yugi's eye on his puzzle. I looked at Silence, surprised, before looking back to him and finding he fled. That wasn't surprising. I turned back. Silence was tidying her deck of cards, making them neat, before placing them gently into her pocket, removing the pen behind her ear, picking the notepad off the ground, and continuing to write.

I stared at her questioningly for several minutes. When she didn't respond, and I found myself extremely weary, I decided to sleep on it. I went back to the bench and found I was finally able to nod off to the lullaby sound of scribbling.


	9. More Freaking Clues

Chapter 9: More Freaking Clues

We continued the quest.

I was still yawning, but I forced my brain to function. Silence followed dutifully behind me. I wondered what else she might be capable of. Found it strange that I could not get the sight of the dragon out of my mind. And the gold object and eye had me reeling. I had seen that before. Before, on the pyramid thing around Yugi's neck. It had my mind running in circles. The only thing I could think of doing was to go back to the beginning.

Pharaoh had something to do with the tablet I saw earlier. I knew that. It was Egyptian, and one of the first things I saw before Stranger showed up and the rest of this unraveled. Both eyes, on both pieces of jewelry seemed Egyptian to me as well. There was still the question of who Stranger actually was. Perhaps there was something to be said of him too.

I held the door open for Silence and immediately remembered the feel of the glass. Remembered the hypnotizing way it had held me. Cool smooth fog. Like creeping cobwebs of winter's chill. I gritted my teeth for those few seconds before letting my hand slide off the pane and hurry away from it.

There were more people about now. Not quite a ghost town any longer. They looked into the glass cases, some with boredom, and others with fascination. I waltzed by, casually with hands in pockets. I found the barred off door. Wasn't surprised when no one was around to tell us to halt. That's how it was with some games. I was down the stairs in a few seconds, and streamed into the room because if I knew I stopped I'd wouldn't be able to move again.

I walked up to the case, the room hauntingly familiar in shadow, towards the gleaming bright lighted glass. I could see my reflection, stormy and angry, fiery glaring eyes. I adjust them, see past the glass.

Two men, pictures of monsters around them.

More pictures but in words.

Hieroglyphs.

Egyptian.

No, there was something I was missing here. Looked harder. I leaned in closer, then realized they seemed very familiar. I looked up and saw one monster was a man in a funny hat and the other…

Dragon.

I furrowed my eyebrows. Looked under the dragon, saw a man with strange ancient clothing, saw…

And took a very sharp step back.

Seto. That was Seto. Or an ancestor of Seto. I had been looking too much at the rock. I felt like an idiot for not seeing it earlier. There he was, in the funny formal looking clothes. I looked at the other and immediately saw Yugi. Or an ancestor of Yugi. The funny hat-ed monster I didn't recognize, but still. He was in ancient clothes too, also formal, but a different type. A triangle at the drawings chest jumped at me too. Triangle with an eye in it.

I looked between the two men thinking. Alright. Seto and Yugi's ancestors must have fought each other. The dragon had its mouth open and claws out, and the funny hat man had the wand pointed out towards it. Okay there was a fight. Who won? That went away quickly when I realized the dragon was on Silence's card. Okay, ancient monsters were on playing cards.

It's a dueling game. Monsters on playing cards. From ancient Egypt. Important formal dressed people that look a lot like a couple of kids today having a fight. If it was chipped into the tablet, that had to be important. Dragon one on a dueling card; that had to mean funny-hat would be there too, and that also meant the whole thing could happen again. I mean, Yugi had the artifact with him. He looked much like this man in the formal attire. I looked at the 'Seto' one, then back at 'Yugi'.

Pharaoh had something to do with this.

Has something to do with both boys?

Has something to do with the fight.

I was racking my brain has I paced in front of the thing. I wish I had paid more attention when they had taught me about ancient Egypt in school. I'd know what this meant. The object was there, but how did the other circle-thing fit? Why where old monsters on new cards? Was this a fight to see who would become Pharaoh? Did it happen like that?

Silence continued to write.

"I wish you would talk." I said bitterly. I bet she knew what was going on. Or at least about how the cards are here. Hackers were tight lipped. They had also made a big deal about Yugi. Was this the reason? Great-great-great, so on and so forth, Father got into a battle with Seto's ancestor?

I was shaking my head at the picture in front of me.

"Something here I'm not quite getting." I murmured. Then I said it again louder and more angrily. Repeated it to myself with seething words as I stared and stared. My legs started to hurt so I sat down and kept staring at it. Furious, but determined.

Hour later I was outside with a headache and growling about the whole thing to myself. I was frustrated. Silence was still going on and on in her notebook. My hands were jammed into my pockets and shaking a little. The street was busy as normal, and there was nothing new to take my mind of this dilemma.

I was considering seeing Mokuba again. He, at least, could tell me some of the family history. I didn't want to see Seto. It had been awkward when we departed. And every time I think back to the café and the whole dating comment I want to bash my head at least several thousand times into a wall just to put my embarrassment out. Surprising how idiotic you feel after thinking about it. A reason why you never look back into the past if you can help it.

The staff where still on the frits. I seldom checked any more. The static was normal when I pressed my ear. I wasn't sure if I wanted to talk to them anyway. Yugi kid had scared the shit out of me with the whole vision spying. Again, an awkward moment I really didn't want to go back to.

I was finding I didn't want to do a lot of things.

It was driving me crazy.

"Hey, what would you suggest?" I yelled over my shoulder, looking at Silence sideways. She didn't even look up from the lined paper. Didn't even flinch. I rolled my eyes, annoyed, and gritted my teeth.

I invaded an arcade for the next three hours. It was strange, playing a videogame inside a video game. Would you call that a mini game? It felt more like I was home. The plastic gun felt lighter, but right in my hands. Shooter games always were the best ones to blow off steam.

I blasted away humanoid pixels while keeping an eye on Silence, sitting on a near by bench still writing. I wondered how her hand didn't cramp. Most of the time I was lost in the mini game. It felt somehow good to blast someone to tiny little pieces and know it wasn't real. Didn't feel real. I was tapping the top of the pistol to reload every few minutes. Not as realistic as the game I was in, but it was definitely quicker.

I lost sight of Silence as a crowd of people began to swarm me. Turns out I was getting close to the 'undefeatable' hi-score. People, real or not, make me uneasy. That's why I'm not usually a customer at arcades. People like to swarm, and I really hate mobs. I was getting my fix, so I ignored them instead of stopped playing.

The murmuring was annoying, but when the numbers blazed past the so called hi score I got a roar that nearly made me drop the game and run. I almost didn't snag a guy hiding in the corner and was nearly blasted to bits. I get trigger happy sometimes. The anger was coming out with my finger as I muttered swears.

The dark room went quiet enough for me to hear myself suddenly. My skin rippled at the feel of that silence, but my finger continued its squeezing duty. I was popping thugs left and right, eyes narrow, still muttering something like a filthy chant with curses.

He came in next to me and picked up the blue plastic gun out of the holster and put a coin in. I could tell from his hands who he was. I was rather interested at the hush of the crowd. Felt like laughing my ass off when we started on Co-op mission and he took the guys to the left.

"You know, I don't need help, right?" I said through the side of my mouth. He didn't laugh, but I could feel it vibrate at my side sort of. He was taking guys out left and right. The murmur was coming back slowly. My lips kept twitching. Must not smile. Glancing to my left, his blue eyes were glued to the screen. His hands were swift and fluent. It felt a little bit like a dance.

"You on break?" I asked, humor glittering in my voice.

"You could say that." Seto's voice was gruff. I figure he's like me in the mob department. I couldn't keep a sly smile off my face. I could hear murmurs behind me now, the name 'Kaiba' came up a few times. I was rather interested.

"You some kind of legend?" I asked softly. Nail the sucker on the left. Ping, out of sight. The blue gun in his hands froze. A guy nailed him and his side of the screen went flashing red. The volume went up at it. I twisted and started picking off some of the guys on his screen while keeping my own in check. Glancing at him, his eyes had gone rather funny. I narrowed my own with interest.

"If you don't shoot, you're going to get killed." I said. He came back with a start. I saw the gun jerk up in the corner of my eye and it was like a massacre. Ten guys seemed to fall down at once. He took out everyone on the entire screen. He was smashing down on that trigger. I was a little unnerved.

We got to level 215 before the game finally declared it was defeated; before dying into a completely blue screen and flash the hi scores in huge white letters. He beat me. I was impressed. It had been a long time since anyone beat me at a game. He put the gun down with a slamming click and flowed away from it. I followed in quick pursuit.

There was applause, but we both ignored it completely as we headed away from the mob. I could hear feet shuffling behind us. It was dead instantly when Seto turned around and gave them a look I didn't catch. Still, I could hear one pair of feet had prevailed. When we stopped and Seto turned to tell them off, I was happy to find it was just Silence.

"Oh, it's cool. She's with me." I said. He gave me a strange look with his blue eyes, glanced at Silence again, and said nothing about it.

"Good game." I said, "You always win?" His eyes narrowed at the question.

"All but a couple of times." He snarled after a pause. I didn't bring it up again. Instead, I moved to the problem that had been bugging me.

"Seto, can I ask something?" He looked at me with wary contemptuous eyes.

"What kind of question is it?" He asked with the same frayed-nerves voice.

"Family question." He looked at me like he was going to say no.

"It's important." My tone was stern. I hadn't been stern around him before. He looked at me with curious serious eyes of his own, calculated through the shift, glanced at Silence still writing expressionless, before coming back to me.

"What?" It irritated, but still not a no.

"Do you know if any of your family was from Egypt?" He gritted his teeth and almost glared at me. I wanted to take a step away from him, but controlled myself.

"No." He said in a small trailing hiss, "Why?" I shrugged my shoulders.

"Eh, no reason. Just something I saw."

"What was that?" His voice was strained. Hadn't expected that question. I figured he'd just drop it and move on to something else. I stared at him, not really knowing what to say. So I told the truth.

"I saw some guy that looked like you on a tablet in a museum earlier, with some other kid I know. I just thought it was interesting." The look he got was one I had never seen before, but it made a chill crawl down my spine.

There was fiery ice cold rage glittering like hard diamonds. Blue water, perhaps. Sea water. And in that vastness, simmering down below in darkness, there was fear. Frantic fear. Kind that consumes and kills; burns like acid. The wound that festers and spreads. The one that can not heal.

I was staring into the half cruel, half innocent eyes of a hurt child.

In me a wave rose.

"What happened?" The look goes in a flash, goes back plain without expression. He looks at me. Just stares for a minute. No answer. I'm twisted up now. Gone. Some sort of logic is gone. Never before have I seen a look like that. No one deserves to look like that. How strange for it to spring up at me, grasp me tightly, and twist me, like ringing out a wet towel.

"What _happened_?" I'm growling. I think maybe he thought I was growling at him. He doesn't answer, but his jaw tightens and an irritated look flashes in his eyes.

"What are you talking about?" He asks in a hiss. I'm about to scream at him, but a hand settles on my shoulder, makes me freeze. Twist, turn. Silence is starting at me with November cold eyes. Different cold though. It's like having cold water dumped on you. What ever fog was there lifts. I blink once, confused. Apathy flows back. Then I'm fine. A little shaken, but fine. Have to close my eyes.

"Never mind. You can tell me when you're ready." I say, light and casual. Can't look at him when we leave. He doesn't try to follow. Why should he? I've probably scared the hell out him. I'm smart enough to realize some masks must never be broken. Only the wearer should do that. Not Silence's, Not Seto's. Not mine.

_Not even mine_…


	10. The Haunting Tune

Chapter 10: Haunting Tune

I sat outside for a couple of hours. Doing nothing. Didn't want to do anything. Silence had gone back to what she did best. I was a little surprised at her actions from before. There had been someone looking out at me for the first time in those silver gray eyes. Looking back, I am more startled now than I had been then. Someone was alive in there. Looking out at me.

I wondered if she wanted to get out. Wondered if she were a prisoner too. Of some sort. Bound by the pen and the paper. Prisons have many shapes and forms after all. You'd be surprised how harmless they look sometimes. But that's the point in some traps right? And traps lead to the belly of prisons. First you have to be caught to be caged. Some prisons you know right away, after you've been ensnared and put into it, that it's a cage. But others, the more cruel types, pretend they're not. It takes a while for the captive to see he's caught.

Those are the cruelest because they captive still thinks he has time to run when there is actually none left for him. Hope can choke a man and kill him, just like dreams can long after they've been turned to nothing. They can suffocate and kill without mercy.

I was staring up at the slightly clouding sky, arms stretched out along a bench in a park as I rested my head on the back, looking up at the puffy white shapes moving smoothly along. Scribbling and the sound of girls singing flowed with them. It must have been a chorus of some type. We were in a park near the school. I guess we were close enough to hear them singing. I could also hear a piano cooing with their voices.

The song's "Green Bird". I don't know who sings it, but I've heard it before on TV. It's a beautiful cheerfully sad song that pulls at your ears. The words aren't English. You have no idea what their saying. But it sounds beautiful. Sing-song and sorrowful. But the Piano doesn't cry. So it sounds like rain. Sweet, sweet pattering rain behind the female voices.

My second love is listening to music. I find I like classical and music with no words, or foreign words striking. I also like rock music and rap, but sometimes I like to pull out a song with just a piano or a cello. Listen to it and let the pictures dance right into my head. Let myself fall a sleep to it over and over again. Dream to my heart's content.

The breeze combed my hair lovingly. My eyes hooded and I let myself go for a while, legs slacked and stuck out, arms hung, head back, eyes half open. My fingers were twitching, pretending to play the piano. I was mouthing the incomprehensible words. Falling down in my head. Just falling.

Then shadows fell over my face and I had to wake up. The sweet pattering of the piano was still there though, so I did it more half asleep. I sat up and looked up at the three figures standing like a wall to the side of me. It was the three hackers. They were all looking down at me like I was the idiot. I stretched for a moment, rolled my shoulders, and yawned when the girl spoke.

"How could you yell at Kaiba like that?" she demanded seething.

"Sibby, we weren't going to argue about that, you promised." Tabber said.

"Well, I lied." Sibby replied viciously.

"Easy, I opened my mouth and used my vocal chords." I said boredly, straining to hear the piano and the chorus. It had been a long time since I had heard the song and they kept playing it over and over. I hadn't had my fill yet.

"And do shut up." I added. Sibby swelled up next to me like a giant parrot. I was sure she was going to start squawking, loud and annoying, when Harti replied.

"I agree." Sibby glared venomously at him. Tabber grinned helplessly. Harti took the look and grinned more confidently back.

"That's not going to work on me, Sib."

"How about I slap you?"

"You can try."

"Are you saying I can't?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying-" I took my pistol out, pointed it up, and blasted the sky about ten times before blowing on the muzzle. There was silence as they simply stared at me. I didn't bother to look at them and said very softly.

"Shut up." They remained silent. To my dismay, I found the music had stopped. Instead, there was distant screaming and yelling. I sighed mightily. That was one way to blow a good afternoon. I rubbed my eyes, trying not to get too angry with myself before pocketing the gun and looking at them distastefully.

"Now that you've ruined the song, would you please tell me what you are still doing in my line of sight?" I looked from the three of them. Only Harti could look me straight in the eye. The others thought the sky and the ground looked quite interesting. Silence kept scribbling besides me. She hadn't stopped. I glanced at her, impressed, before looking at Harti again.

"We want to talk to your employers."

"You can't."

"So you're going to try and stop us? I bet they can hear everything I'm saying right now."

"I'm not going to stop you. The channel I have is static; I've been out of touch with them since the near beginning." Harti looked at me with real surprise for once.

"…Are you serious?"

"Yeah, would I kid?" I snarled. He looked at me like I I had just grown three heads for a minute. I'm use to that stare, so it was easy just to keep looking at him as his expression changed to bored.

"No, guess not." Didn't care if this was an insult or not. I was going to go back to my slumped position when the three of them suddenly tensed, hard enough to feel the vibration. I wasn't sure that was possible. Maybe it was a glitch. The Scribbling continued, but it came faster and more out of control. Silence's hand was nearly dancing off the paper. I glanced at it, a little startled, before looking up at their faces.

They were staring. Each of their eyes were glistening. Even Harti's. He didn't seem the type to go into instant awe. I was a little disappointed. A group of stiff statues, looking, incessantly gazing, like tourists, or loyal subjects to a lord. Struck dumb in the presence of a god.

I turned to see what the heck they were gawking at.

I saw Yugi walking toward us. His hair was unmistakable. How could you mistake something that looked like a flaming wig? He wasn't smiling. Looked more like nerves to me than anything. I found my self frowning at that look. Had to shift and fix my face before he came closer. I had enough time.

He wasn't alone.

I saw a familiar face. The same head of white fluffy hair, the familiar brown eyes and complexion, but it was different. The kid looked a little bit blanker, definitely less mean, a little softer spoken. I was reminded heavily of the kid that locks himself in the Library after school as well as before. I didn't see the angry hard face. Still, I didn't like that Yugi was hanging around with him.

About two feet away, Yugi looked over her shoulder, a flicker of a second, before turning around even more nervous. No one was behind him. I furrowed my brow at this action, turned to the three idiots behind me, just standing there staring at him. They're voices from before flocked the inside of my skull

"_You know Yugi Mutou?" "Yeah." "Pale kid? Spiky yellow, red, black hair? Short? Purple eyes?" "Yeah, I met him." "Wait, you spoke to him?"_

They made him sound like royalty. I thought this irritated. Then I froze at the thought. Royalty. Like Royalty. Man with formal clothes. Like a King. They looked at him like he was a King. You'd record a fight with a King right? Of course you would. Like a King.

Like a Pharaoh.

I stood there surprised as the chorus girls finally calmed down and began to sing there music from the school. It hung like a haunting melody as I stood there, staring blankly at the place where Yugi had been walking, now looking over his head.

A gold glimmer reflecting off the sunlight into my eyes woke me. His face showed a touch of concern. Uneasiness. Painted dark in his purple eyes. I stared at them for a blank interested moment, before shaking it off. My hands slipped into my pockets like second nature, and I smirked at the two of them. More at Yugi though.

"What's up, bud?" He gave me a startled look. It looked strange with the reddish tinge the setting sun created. Everything was turning a more orangey red. He looked at me, a weak sheepish smile on his face, glanced at the crowd behind me. I took a careful step in front of them, blocking him from their view on a wimp I didn't understand. It was just like instinct. I was creeped out a little.

"Never mind these idiots," I said, flicking a thumb behind me, "From what I can tell, they're big fans and can't be polite enough to save their lives… or their dignity. Those part of a set?" I asked, pointing at Bakura's ring and the pendent around Yugi's neck. They both looked down at them. Yugi smiled again, looking at me with a tiny flicker of caution in his eyes.

"Er…You could say that."

The piano started again like rain drops when a light winds blew by us. His hair fluttered in it for a moment, strangely pleasing to see with the combined female voices singing incoherent words. It was a warm wind and tickled my cheeks. I furrowed at it, a little unsettled at these things I was noticing.

I saw Silence's hand pressed hard and jerking around worse than an Earthquake measuring machine, you know, the one with the line of paper and the little hooked line that makes a straight line until it's shaken. I couldn't see her face, but her neck seemed to tense and bulge.

It was alarming in a dreamy sort of way. I looked behind me at the crowd. They're eyes seemed to have gone vague and their hands had twisted into tight fists. Green and Dark eyes were completely gone. It looked like Sibby was fighting it. She could flicker them. I could feel the strain behind me, like they were being stretched or forced back very forcibly.

I found I could almost feel my gloves. They seemed to hover, just out of reach, around my hands. Know when someone is inches from your skin, floating over you, and it almost feels like their touching you? You seem to feel it even when you can't see them doing it? My hands felt like that. I glanced at them and found them the same.

I looked back at him and could see the uneasiness growing, but he seemed to be staring blankly into space. But his eyes were focused to the side of us, almost like he was looking at someone. There was no one there. No one I could see. I wondered dimly what the chances of us just running into each other like this. Very slim, but possible.

The cold stoniness returned at the thought of that. Back to business. I looked at him without really looking at him.

"I found the tablet." I said. The music was humming hauntingly in the background. I have never seen anyone look at me so alarmed in my life. Purple eyes flicked brightly on, the nerves increased ten fold. Bakura furrowed his eyes confused.

"What tablet?" He asked, bewildered. His voice sounded nicer, but I had to ignore him. I was looking at Yugi, just sort of looking at me as sternness entered his eyes. Hard bravery filled that small space. I admired it as he opened his mouth and spoke.

"Are you here for the puzzle?" Interesting question. I felt a wave of stress wash over me like static, but not enter. It wasn't mine to begin with, after all. Silence's pen was stabbing and flying at her page. I could see a drop of sweat travel down into view from the bottom of the brim of her hat.

Could feel strained unheard thoughts behind me. Could see the started horror on the real Bakura's face, his ring chiming as his body swayed slightly. Hard Purple eyes. I wanted to enter them and search those thoughts, but all I've got is a vague shadowed window, to which, I am left helplessly looking in. Don't even have a visitor badge. No clearance at all.

Somehow I was able to crack a smile.

"No. I'm here to talk to the Pharaoh. Simple and clean." Did they change? Was there a flicker of light in those purple eyes? Did they grow deeper? I studied, growing more and more confused as they seemed to grow darker before my waking eyes. Almost older with the wisdom of malice and pain. Simply knowing it can change men's hearts.

"Then speak." A deeper and darker voice says. And all at once my tunnel vision is shattered by it, and as a whole Yugi's friendly eyes are completely gone and replaced with dark cryptic ancient eyes. His voice sings familiar and I realize I have heard him speak like this before. I felt suddenly distanced from him, though neither of us moved an inch.

In this moment, I realize I haven't the slightest clue in what to ask. It had all been experimental. I had chased after something that had the vaguest relation to any part of why I was here, caught it, and now could ask my question I was _suppose_ to have thought of by now!

I opened my mouth to speak, to say something, anything, when Silence's form cut his face off from my view. A quick flash. The hat was tipped back enough so I could catch a glimpse of her face for a second. A second only. The sweat trail stretched not from her forehead but the bottom of her eye. I had mistaken the drop. It had been a tear.

And in the next she was running as fast as she could down the street, her hat flapping until it finally flew off in the wind, making her hair fly up now released from its prison. I turned back to the Pharaoh, as if to ask why she had done that, when Yugi's innocent young eyes were back and scared.

He had his hands to his chest, and for a minute I was sure he was having a heart attack. Then I saw his fingers curled around the empty chain around his neck and knew. I don't know how she took the thing, but she did.

"The puzzle." He whispered in a quiet voice, frightened terror, before he turned and ran after her.


	11. A Good Friend Gone

Chapter 11: A Good Friend Gone

Her notebook was flat on the ground, pages flickering as her pen rolled lazily on the concrete path. Without thinking much, I glanced at the writing.

_Weighing of the scale_

_Which one? The Heart or Feather?_

_Egypt_'_s Justice flies._

It was written over, and over, and over again.

I sprinted as fast as I could to catch up, not even thinking about the group of people I had left behind. He was still in sight, so I could at least follow him.

He was heading fast, but my legs were slightly longer and I was determined to catch up. I did. I got to the side of him and without thinking grabbed his sleeve and pulled him in the direction that just felt right. He dragged for a moment before I growled over my shoulder hard.

"Come on! She went this way!" I felt the same determination flow as he grabbed my wrist hard and sped up. I cut through on coming traffic, my legs doing most of the thinking as my eyes searched for any sight of her. Horns blew up loud and clear, kind of like loud angry dragons, but they were easy to ignore compared to how hot my wrist was getting. That was more distracting.

I ran for five minutes straight before I snagged a glimpse of the ends of her hair flying around the corner of a building and I added to my speed. The wind whistled in my ears, had to narrow my eyes to protect them as we whipped around right after and headed on. I could see her now, and my voice bellowed loud and fierce.

"SILENCE!"

She spun and looked at me with wide eyes.

Crying eyes filled to the brim in cold misery.

November cold dead eyes.

And my breath snagged hard enough to hurt my throat before everything spiraled into chaos. I suppose that's the only way to describe such a thing. How fast everything moved. Too fast to comprehend correctly. Movements and actions happening all at the same time. The only way I can give it any sense it to tell you it in sequence. If you find a better way to give order to chaos, let me know.

Silence clenched the puzzle. Laughter exploded. Yugi got around me and went forward. My head turned. Light fizzed into life behind me. My hand rose. Metal gleamed. Light fizzed to life in front of me. The silhouette of a human took shape behind, hand up. Boom. Smoke rises. A female bellow. The roar of a beast and a blast of hot wind. A shouted word from a male. MIRROR FORCE. Twang. Simple sound of a ricocheting bullet. The explosive shot of white light that went KA BOW. Fresh white hot pain laced into my chest. The expelled shadow of the silhouette. Dark eyes. And then my voice entwined with a shout of agony.

"SHIT!"

I landed hard on my knees as those dark eyes looked at me pleasantly as he laughed, God I should've have _recognized_ him by that god damn laughter. Should have long before now. Why was I such an IDIOT! It should've made sense. The whole DAMN THING!

He laughed again at the startled expression with pleasure, his hand still raised lazily above his head, his dark eyes on me and that echoing chuckle of a stranger in the air. Except I couldn't call him Stranger any more. It should've been plain before. I mean come on? Think hard ladies and gentlemen. Who had the skills? The codes? All that happy computer shit. Who knew the game existed!

Tabber looked quite pleased with himself, or maybe it was the fresh ripping pain that was shredding through me. I was grabbing at it by now, blindly with reddening hands. He put the card at the bottom of the deck, making the mirror disappear before pulling a few more cards, cold sly intelligence in the light of things. Finally.

"Shooting a Mirror Wall was probably the stupidest thing I have ever seen, but I should've expected it from you, Love. Your first instincts are shoot-first-and-ask-questions-later, am I right? Harti was the same way, the idiot." He said it softly, but it still cut like a blade. I clenched, teeth clenched from the throb of the pain lacing itself deeper. Bitch in a can! That really hurt like a son of a bitch, god damn it!

"Yeah…you could probably say that much." I said, wheezing a little. Winced at how it hurt to breath, like little claws ripping you wide open and teeth sinking in. I began to pant, fingers still curled around the butt of the gun. He ignored it completely, and why not? The thing wasn't going to cause any problem. We both knew it.

"It hit an organ. The chances it didn't are slim, Love." We both knew that too.

"Don't call me that." I snarled in a rasp. Tabber brought his hand to his mouth in fake surprise. There was mocking delight burning softly in his eyes.

"Oh yes, I forgot. How _rude _of me. The tom-boy doesn't like to be called such a sissy word! I'm sorry dear, but you _are _female. Females are supposed to think love is for them and their partners. The word is supposed to make you gush." I rolled my eyes, leaned against my other arm and struggled to my feet very slowly.

"What are you? Some helpless romantic? That's the biggest load of bullshit I've ever heard." A grimace and buckling legs. I could hear blood splashing onto the road in thick sick swishing thuds. It was running between my fingers freely now, in a dribble down the side of my leg.

"Words, Love. It's just words. No matter how much you try to squirm it will get you. That's just how girls are. They look for their Knight in Shining Armor. There is no escaping. I think you already know, deep, deep down. And you're scared." I leaned against the wall and was slightly pissed at the shivering that was starting. Or how pale I could feel my face getting. He'd think it was fear. He'd think it. And maybe I'd believe it. He grinned all the same.

"I can make it quick, Love. I can end the pain right now. If you do one thing." I was trying to give him a look that seemed amused. I'm not sure if it came out that way.

"Yeah? And what would that be?" Tried to make my voice lazy.

"If you admit it." I was silent for a moment before opening my mouth.

"Go to hell."

"No, that's where you're going." And as if to stress his point he flips another card and points its face towards me. More fizzing lights, ribbons made of stars. The wind stirred from the energy and I felt static dancing hard and wide. That was a new touch. Or maybe it was that the pain gnawing into my chest that made me feel more.

A man in a funny hat. Not the same funny hat from the wall, but the faces were strikingly similar. The get up was interesting. Teal and black face paint made into swirls, dressed in tight leather. And a staff to boot. He looked down at me with dark cold eyes.

"Do you who this is, Love? This is Magician of Black Chaos. The Pharaoh used him to defeat Pegasus. Do you know the power he holds? Wields? It's pretty powerful stuff. And I'm going to use it on you. You should be grateful-"

"Will you shut up?" I said. I expected him to pull a tantrum, start calling me a thousand curses, and yeah maybe even the 'c' word. I hate that word. Really do. Instead, I get the darkest damned look I have ever seen, laced with the cold of space.

"You're going to wish you never said that." He whispered, before pointing his finger at the big bad monster and flicking it.

I saw the staff spin in his skilled hands gloved hands. Maybe he would've brought it down. I don't know. Someone yelled something and I got a blast of wind smelling of sand, hot desert sand that left me frozen. Sand and desert blossoms. It was stupefying. And for a moment it felt like I was somewhere else when a big dark shape blotted out that light and that vision.

A winged woman I've taken for an angle in plain everyday life. Not that it existed any longer. And why should it? Seven winged and that's all I got before my legs stared my wobbling body away. That and desperate grasping fingers were pursuing enough in all. I was in a daze, and the gun more or less dangled in my hand. Desert kept flashing in my eyes. In and out. In and out. God, it was haunting like the tide.

Silence's face was twisted in determined anguish. She looked rocked back on her heels from the blow to the winged angle, like he had struck a blow to her more than the beast. I watched the thing smash into a thousand bits. Silver Coin eyes went wide and skyward for a moment. It hurt to look at. Even worse when they tilted and slid on to me. Sorrow.

"Silence! You pathetic piece of slime, you think you can with stand against my skills? I doubt the Pharaoh himself could stop me, little sister." Tabber was yelling in enjoyment. But that was far away. Her knees banged hard against the pavement, pain flashing deep in her eyes as her body rocked, the puzzle held tightly to her heaving chest. Clearly he was killing her.

I tried to go to her, but those hands, his goddamn hands, held me firmly away. Her head followed her eyes, faced me with wet tearing expression. A weak smile was on her lips. And without really having to think much about it, I knew she was dead. She knew too. It was written in black ink in her mind. There was no other way. And she still continued to smile.

I screamed something wordless. Was it horror or heart wrenching sorrow? I don't think I'll ever know. What I do know is her arms raised slowly over her head, golden pyramid full of cracks, the chain swishing like a tail, and threw it. Threw it hard. Harder than I have ever seen anyone chuck something. It put quarterbacks to shame.

And it sailed like a bird, chain fluttering behind it like some bizarre comet-tail, metal glittering in the sun. It's funny sometimes, how your mind can work. The sun was glinting off of it, gold shine that screamed of dunes as that damned piano song from the park came dancing into my head. My neck craned and I could hear Tabber screaming with rage in that same galaxy, far, far away from this one.

And my hands were suddenly there, out in front of me as the thing came tilting at a downward slant, one hand clean, the other soaked with blood. It came down into my arms with a safe thud, the rough texture of the gloves exploding onto my fingers as I went backwards. Would've fallen if those hands hadn't kept me up right. Would've stayed if they hadn't kept me moving.

They were dragging, and it took me until now to realize it was Yugi that was getting me the hell out of there. Watched in a daze as Tabber's monsters came in my direction and where held off with Silence's cards with a single wave of her hand, determined swing of fingers, still looking at me with her eyes.

And she gave me one last smile as we turned the corner in a lagging sort of jog. Pain was there, but it was also in the distant galaxy with Tabber. I paid it no mind. She smiled with her silver eyes, mysterious I wonder even to herself as they were to me. And her silence never broken. Maybe it is better that way.

That was the last time I saw the one real friend I had ever made.


	12. How I Ended Up Here

Chapter 12: How I Ended Up Here

It's funny sometimes, how life works out. I think I was beginning to realize through the dazed muddled shock bouncing around in my head. Yugi was pulling me, holding my wrist and leading. I don't think he knew I was bleeding badly. It didn't even feel it anymore. The puzzle was in one hand and the other was curled around my side. I wondered if that was good or bad around the other thoughts. They'd come like damn pop-ups. I'm looking at the Street and then bang; there's the pool. Side of a building then bang; children's laughter. Shit like that.

And I was still wheezing but blood wasn't flowing as quickly as it had been. In that unfocused place the light dims in the outside world. I can hear a whisper of gasping perhaps, and a vague swirl of cream rough walls and papers is enough to say we're in an office building. I felt like laughing my head off because I knew exactly where we were and how damn funny it had to be.

And a big flash hits home right between the eyes. Hot dizzily heat smokes into my nostrils, soaked with desert flowers and blazing sand. And children's laughter rings like bells. They're playing in the courtyard that just shimmers to life, but it's far and sweet. Swinging down I can see the tanned exposed skin, soft and smooth to the touch, before that is. It would've been before. Now it was coated with smeared blood as well as a long shaft that stuck out wrong, an intruder. Feathered at the end, and bopping with heaving breathes. "_Master why are you crying?" _

I take a hard breath and find I'm in the elevator. The tug pulling from the floor is coaxing enough for me to slide down the wall and sit there, everything spinning a little. Warm metal is between my gloved hands, and I'm looking at for what it is with a heaving chest. Blood is dripping down my nose now. I wipe at it in bemused bristle of fingers before a cold hand settled on my forehead and purple eyes are wide and awake.

"Kaiba's right?" I asked wheezing. He smiled despite the strange panic in his eyes. One hand was lying on top of the puzzle while the other was checking my head. I was sweating hard by now.

"You're hot." He said.

"It happens when you get shot." I said a little groggily, "You should put the puzzle, charm, whatever the damn thing is, on. Tab wanted it, what better reason to keep it?" It was meant as a joke. He didn't laugh, but put the chain around his neck all the same. The purple deepened in his eyes to new depths. The Pharaoh woke up wider as he sat down next to me, keeping the puzzle in my hands as he picked at the side of my shirt that was bleeding.

"I need to look at this." He said.

"What are you, a doctor?" I asked in a snarl. I got a simple hard stare before lifting my shirt up sideways so he could look at the damage. A clean hole that came out the other side; high up around my shoulder. I can imagine it, the light shining through the other side like a winking star. No wonder I was bleeding like a stuffed pig. Or was before. It looked like it was trying to clot. It wasn't flowing anymore. He looked at it with tentative fingers. I winced anyway. In response he pulled away, and tore the jacket off his back and looped it around, tying a hard and tight knot under my arm pit. I refused to look at him when he did this. When that was done he pulled away, frowning at it.

"I don't know why you even bother. It's going to be like last time." I said spinning. Then wondered why I had said 'like last time'. He looked at me startled and…was there the barest flicker of fear? I held the jacket down, watching it slowly stain over a few sluggish minutes.

"What are you talking about?" He asked. I opened my mouth to answer when a flash struck me again. "_Master, why are you crying?" "I c-c-can't stop the b-b-bleeding…" "Of course not, I'm supposed to die."_ The lights in the ceiling were weaving around like living flying serpents. I was shivering now, feeling colder than I should, and why not? I was loosing a lot of blood by that time. I shook the question away with a weak wave.

"Forget it. Not important. You realize why Tab's after the puzzle, right?"

"Yeah, power and world domination, like every other one." It was bitter reply. I looked at him curiously enough, but that would have to be a story for later. If there was a later. I shook my head, and realized it was pretty stupid to do with all the spinning already, closed my eyes, hoping for a little bit of sweet darkness.

I got a tanned faced kid instead. A kid crying his eyes out despite everything. Big purple eyes brimming with tears; and a few smears of blood where he tried to wipe them away. Hot wind ruffles his hair, a big bunch it is above and around his forehead. My hands rise up, tanned due to the constant sunlight, and lanced my fingers around the sides of his face, whipping tears away with my thumbs as a phantom humming began. A little gurgled, but still a hum.

Opening my eyes I realized it was the same god damn tune on the piano and the chorus had been singing. I have to shove the creeping thought away, but can't before realizing I'm dying for real and sealing it up tight in the back of my head. I refused to look at him.

"Nah. It's something else." I said to myself, not speaking of motive at all. "Tab's doom; it has to be the Cheats, to the game. The stupid game program, Yami, the stupid program."

"Who told you my name was Yami?" He asked.

"You did." I said distractedly, "You're the freaking Cheat Codes. So you can get him. He may have control of the scenery and the people, nature and practically everything else I can't think of right now, but not you. He said he didn't have the player controls or the Cheats."

"No I didn't." He said. I looked at him confused.

"What?"

"I didn't tell you my name was Yami." No, no he didn't. I gritted my teeth in frustration.

"That's not important, you idiot!" I say, half coughing it. Warm blood is trickling down the side of my mouth as tears start brimming against my eyes, "You got to get him! He's going to screw everything up and all that other horrible shit people do to worlds. And that's not right, and you're the only one that's able to get the bastard. You hear me?" God, I was trying to keep my face out of view. The tears were coming down now and I had no control of them. How wickedly horrible was this? It was unfair. I was not supposed to cry ever. Do you understand me? Ever! I was craning my neck away, but how you hide on coming sobs without running? And where the hell did I have to go? No where!

And in a way I realize I've actually dreamed about this, I feel his palms on my cheeks and thumbing tears from beneath my eyes, like I had done to him when he was a boy. The young eight year old boy of the Pharaoh, kneeling his dying servant with cold sorrow and pain ripping at his face so calmly it hurt to watch. And in a way, like in dreams that seem to easily correct themselves without screwing up your thoughts or making you wonder, I wasn't just a servant, I had been chosen to be his protector. Kind of like a bodyguard, but also like a Nanny.

It had been my job and I did it right. I had got the intruder, the _bastard_, in the chest with my own arrow but only after I had to take a shot in the side to cover the boy. I think it was looking up at him I realized he didn't understand death yet. What a hard lesson to learn this up close and personal. How could Ra be so cruel? Even worse the kid starting tearing up.

"_Why are you crying Master?"_ It's a wheeze, but a cooing one.

"_I c-c-can't stop the b-b-bleeding…"_ I grinned up at him for an amused moment.

"_Of course not, I'm supposed to die. That's my job."_ I raised my hands and thumbed away some of his tears, shushing him sweetly. He was still sobbing a little and his breath was hitching but it wasn't as bad as before. I moved my hands away from his face and picked myself up, trying to hide the pain in my clenched teeth before leaning against the tree trunk that had been above my head.

It was a relief to feel the blood freely flowing. I shifted my arms and drew him close to my chest in a hug, and found I was humming a lullaby my father taught me before he died in battle. The soldier's daughter, right? A crisp sweet lullaby of the warrior's final journey home. What better tune was there for the moment, right?

It calmed him down. He stopped quivering in my arms as I buried my nose in his hair and kept humming, even through the gurgling in my lungs began. Gray was licking at the edges of my vision and I knew the journey through the Gates was close. I hoped I would have an after-life, which Ra would see me befitting such a thing and that maybe I could see this small child grow up to be strong. I'd love to see him again when he was older. I know a great soul when I see one, always do, and I could feel one pulsing beneath his young skin.

Feel that warm thudding as I drifted away…

I had my arms around his shoulders when I came out of that flash and was humming the song again. Sweet and crisp lullaby. A soldier's woeful tale of demise, the slaughter of his brothers in arms, and the tears of loved ones around his crypt. Sweet remembrance. He smelled a little different, but beneath that new aroma his scent was still there as I let myself lean on him.

It was amusing to hear how fast his blood was pumping. The beating of his heart sounded like the panicky flutter of bird's wings. Maybe it was because we where the same age and I was not his elder and this was the stage when our kin would pick life long partners. This is what my old, ancient self was whispering in my ear. Maybe, but I like to think it wasn't really about that. (It's easy to lie to yourself after all, and I've heard after a while you can believe it. I don't mind. Sometimes a lie is better than truth.)An old fear rises when such a thing is brought up.

You wouldn't believe how hard it is for a heart to heal. Wouldn't believe how hard it is to even keep it open. I suppose that's why I was sure I'd be alone in that sense for now and ever. I've woven that place tightly closed, and forgotten how to open it. To tell the truth, I doubt if I'll ever really remember how to open it, and it doesn't bother me as much as it should I guess. It's hard to be strong, and in that regard I'm sure I failed, but hey, life goes on right?

"Why did you die?" A simple question, but it was at a depth that was far and wide. I'm sure he was speaking from his own galaxy in his own mind, a place I'm sure that forgotten things are stored. Things your mind doesn't really need and would conflict with everyday life. I found mine alright, so why shouldn't he find his?

"Nothing lasts forever." I say in a tone that if it had movement it would be a casual shrug. And maybe I feel amusement stir in him, I've never been good with reading people and I'm sure I never will.

"It wasn't fair."

"Course not. Life's a cheater sometimes."

"Life's cruel."

"Yeah, that's right kid." I said, a little softer. It felt amusing, in a sad twisted sense of logic. Part of me wanted to tell him it wasn't so bad dying. Maybe even a kind of relief if you're ready for it. I was getting cold but I could ignore that for a while. He was warm anyway. It was kind of like having a fever. His voice sounded very distant, like he was more in a trance than anything else. This conversation would probably be stored and be forgotten. I'm sure it would probably conflict too much, anyway.

"How long do you think you have left?" I did actually shrug. It was a slow sluggish movement.

"I don't know, probably less than ten minutes."

"We won't reach Kaiba in time." I considered that, before a grin slipped slowly onto my face.

"Remember we use to play hide-and-seek? He couldn't play that game for shit. We'd always find him first and he never could find any of us. It was the only thing he wasn't good at. You use to give him shit about it when he tried to gloat."

I told him, while in my mind's eye I could see the little boy, yeah he was going to go up to be the High Priest I remembered that much, trying to climb in a pot once to escape me coming around the corner. That sour look of contempt he always gave me was good in the beginning. I wonder maybe that's how he perfected it. With a lot of practice. I started to chuckle a little, and then had to cough against a hot lick of pain, but that wasn't too bad because I could sense a smile playing on his lips, for a moment. It was a precious moment.

"I never died. I slept through centuries of darkness." A distant fact, then added.

"I don't want to go back there."

"Don't have to…Shhhh…" I whispered feather-light at the shaking that started in his form. Fresh sobs were trying to escape, but he held them locked tight in his throat. My hands were getting rained on with his tears dripping from his face. I padded him, not really noticing the blood getting transferred to his shoulder. Stroked the back of his head, ruffled his hair up a little bit. Everything was getting gray. It was close now, and it's amazing how similar endings are. I found the gun on the floor, a few feet from me, reached for it with sluggish gasping fingers, found it, and more or less dragged it to where his thigh was. I was humming again, softly, before speaking.

"I want you to use this if you need to. Not to kill yourself, I'll be furious with you if you do, but if it comes to protecting a life, you have to use it. Understand?"

I took his hand and laced it gently around the handle, but kept his fingers away from the trigger. It's the sort of thing you never need an answer to. It was simple, and I didn't really have any time to coax one out of him.

Didn't matter much anyway. He'd fix it. Strong souls are placed where they do the job their meant to do. More or less the task gets done, and they move on to the next thing. It's the way they're built and how they survive. To be needed is a necessity, even if it's only a little. That's what I see. I don't know about you, but that's what I see.

And I was humming even still, hearing the piano keys and maybe a handcrafted flute, made of reed or bone, of ancient times behind even that. Maybe it was the sound of a chorus or one strong deep voice of a man. I don't think I'll ever really be able to tell. Grayness seeped in like water, ate away at reality, and strengthened into a dark, dark black. I wonder sometimes maybe if Silver was actually singing the chorus or not, but again I'm never going to know.

And that's how the story ends for me. Passing out into oblivion in an elevator with an old powerful soul that I'm sure and rather sad to know probably started sobbing after I stopped breathing. I like to think the elevator door opened and Kaiba found him. Helped him up off the floor and helped him coax that memory into a deep dark place were he wouldn't have to remember it. Hugged him like a brother. I can't picture him crying, Seto I mean, and I hope never to have to see it. I wonder if my body will stay in the elevator or vanish like those monsters vanished, in that game. And I wonder how the video game makers will explain seven dead corpses.

I also like to think they found Tabber and brought him down to ruin in some form as a team, like the good friends they were so many years ago. I know Tabber is at least down for the count. I haven't seen him, and think soon you'll be meeting him yourself. I don't see Yami around here anywhere so I assume he got him.

But then I assume he'd come here if he was killed. I guess I can't really know that huh? All the same, that's how I like to think that confrontation ended, that chapter closed. I'll never really know unless I find Yami again and ask him. And that wouldn't be for a while cause you're obviously going to give him a few more jobs; milk him for all he's worth, before finally giving him his reward and shipping him here. I guess I'll see him then. Or maybe I'll run into Mokuba (please not him first he's so young) or Joey or anyone else that knew him, if I run into any of them.

I mean you're not going to give me another shot. I did that whole reincarnated thing, I got to see the boy grow up and that old powerful soul at full height. I don't need to do it again. Like I said, if I hadn't woven that place, the room in my heart, too tightly, then I probably would want to go back and try again. Like a gambler so addicted to gambling that he plays Russian roulette every waking moment before finally blowing his brains out. That's the soldier's game right? The Siren song of that damned bullet if I ever saw one.

But I suppose I'm just trying to get around the real question here. Or maybe you meant for me to get side tracked by telling you how I got here, or that you have Silver grayish eyes that look a lot like Silence's. You have the same face shape as her. Or maybe she got it from you. She's a relative of yours? Or maybe Tabber is. Is that the whole scheme here? A little family tiff that got a little out of hand? But that's not for me to complain about. Nope, I'm getting side tracked again.

I need to get to the real question here, the one we're both avoiding here. Now that my little story is out and the open and told, you got to answer that one question for me. How about it? Just a small little answer, you've got me fairly curious by now.

How about it, Anubis, which one's heavier?

The Heart or the Feather?


End file.
